Tax Forms

Backdoor Roth IRA: How CPAs Execute the Strategy Without Triggering Pro-Rata Tax

High-income clients are phased out of direct Roth contributions in 2026, but the backdoor Roth IRA remains a viable — and powerful — strategy when executed correctly. This guide walks CPAs through the two-step contribution-and-conversion process, the pro-rata rule traps most practitioners miss…

Amended FBAR Procedures: How CPAs Correct Foreign Account Errors Without Triggering Penalties

Most FBAR content covers initial filing. This guide goes deeper — walking CPAs through the exact steps to correct a filed or missed FinCEN 114, choose between delinquent and streamlined procedures, document reasonable cause, and communicate risk exposure to clients without alarming them.

Transparency in Coverage Final Rules: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

Federal regulators published final Transparency in Coverage rules on October 6, 2026, amending price reporting requirements for non-grandfathered group health plans under ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code. CPA firms serving S-corps, partnerships, and nonprofits…

Backdoor Roth IRA: How CPAs Execute the Strategy for High-Income Clients

High-income clients are phased out of direct Roth IRA contributions, but the backdoor Roth IRA mechanic keeps the door open — if their CPA executes it correctly. This guide walks through Form 8606 line-by-line mechanics, the pro-rata rule trap, SEP and SIMPLE IRA aggregation issues, and multi-year…

Charitable Giving Strategies: How CPAs Reduce Client Tax Liability Beyond Simple Donations

Most charitable giving content covers individual vehicles in isolation. This guide gives CPAs a unified decision framework — matching donor-advised funds, QCDs, appreciated stock donations, and bunching strategies to each client's age, income level, and asset type — with the IRS thresholds and…

Federal Scholarship Tax Credit: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

Treasury released temporary regulations on October 2, 2026 creating a new nonrefundable Federal Scholarship Tax Credit for qualified contributions to scholarship granting organizations starting in tax year 2027. The rules affect individual filers, S-corps, partnerships, and nonprofits in…

Election To Pay in Installments Tax on Gain From Certain Farmland Property: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published proposed regulations on September 29, 2026 governing the statutory election to pay in four equal annual installments the tax on gain from selling qualified farmland to a qualified farmer. CPA firms with agricultural clients, land-owning individuals, and pass-through entities…

Wash Sale Rules: How CPAs Protect Clients From Disallowed Loss Traps

Wash sale rules trip up even experienced CPAs when clients trade frequently, use robo-advisors, or hold crypto. This practitioner guide covers the 30-day mechanics, substantially identical securities tests, post-2025 crypto ambiguity, and how to adjust cost basis on Schedule D without drawing IRS…

Estate Tax Closing Letter User Fee Update: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS finalized regulations on September 25, 2026, raising the user fee for requesting an estate tax closing letter (IRS Letter 627). Small and mid-size CPA firms with estate administration clients need to update their engagement scopes, client disclosures, and billing procedures immediately.

K-1 Distribution Timing: How CPAs Set Partner Expectations Before Tax Season Ends

Late Schedule K-1s don't just inconvenience one client — they force extensions up and down your entire 1040 roster. This guide gives CPAs a practical playbook for sequencing K-1 collection, setting delivery SLAs with partnership clients, and building an automated tracking system that stops the…

Estimated Tax Penalty Waiver: How CPAs Get Clients Off the Hook for Underpayment

Most clients don't realize they owe an underpayment penalty until the IRS says so — but CPAs can often eliminate it entirely before the return is filed. This guide walks through Form 2210 waiver elections, safe harbor thresholds, and the annualized income installment method so you can protect…

IRS Power of Attorney: How CPAs File Form 2848 Without Delays

Filing Form 2848 sounds routine — until a formatting error or e-signature ambiguity sends your authorization to the back of the CAF queue for three weeks. This guide walks CPAs through every step of preparing and submitting IRS power of attorney, explains the rejection reasons competitors never…

Backup Withholding on Third Party Network Transactions: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published final regulations on August 10, 2026 updating backup withholding rules for third party settlement organizations. The rules reflect statutory changes that shift withholding obligations and create new compliance touchpoints for CPA firms serving gig workers, S-corps, partnerships…

Form 1065 Partnership Return: What CPAs Need to File Right

Filing a Form 1065 partnership return involves more than transferring numbers — CPAs must navigate Schedule K-1 allocations, basis calculations, and a dense web of IRS rules that can trigger audits if mishandled. This guide walks through the full CPA workflow: key deadlines, the most common 1065…

Information Reporting Regarding Qualified Opportunity Zones: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published proposed regulations on September 11, 2026 that impose new information reporting requirements on qualified opportunity funds and the businesses they hold. CPA firms with partnership, S-corp, or high-net-worth individual clients invested in QOFs need to act before comment…

Racial Nondiscrimination in Private Schools: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published proposed regulations on September 4, 2026 that would revoke tax-exempt status for private schools that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin. CPA firms serving private school clients — and donors who take charitable deductions tied to those…

Superfund Tax on Chemical Substances: NBR Petition CPA Firms Must Track

The Federal Register published a notice on September 9, 2026 announcing a petition to add acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) to the IRS list of Superfund taxable substances. CPA firms serving chemical manufacturers, distributors, and industrial supply clients need to flag this now before the…

Car Loan Interest Deduction: Final IRS Rules CPA Firms Must Act On Now

On September 8, 2026, the IRS published final regulations creating a new above-the-line deduction of up to $10,000 for qualified passenger vehicle loan interest on individual returns — and paired it with mandatory information reporting for lenders paying $600 or more. CPA firms serving individual…

Section 898(c) Transition Rule for Allocating Foreign Taxes: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

On August 31, 2026, the IRS published a correction to proposed regulations REG-115145-25 in the Federal Register, amending rules on the Section 898(c) transition rule for allocating foreign taxes and the Section 960(d)(4) foreign tax credit disallowance. CPA firms with clients holding interests in…

Pro Rata Share of Subpart F Income, Tested Income, or Tested Loss: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published proposed regulations on August 26, 2026 that reshape how U.S. shareholders must calculate their pro rata share of Subpart F income, tested income, or tested loss from controlled foreign corporations. The rules affect any CPA firm with clients who hold CFC interests — including…

Guidance on Eligible Investments for Trump Accounts: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS released proposed regulations on August 21, 2026 defining eligible investments for Trump Accounts—the new minor-beneficiary savings vehicles created under recent tax legislation. The rules restrict allowable assets until the beneficiary turns 18 and affect trustees, account administrators…

Employer Contributions to Trump Accounts and Nondiscrimination Rules Explained for CPAs

On August 11, 2026, the IRS published proposed regulations governing employer contributions to Trump accounts and nondiscrimination rules for dependent care assistance programs. This news brief extracts the operational impact for small and mid-size CPA firms and lists what to do this week across…

Health Insurance Deduction for S Corp Owners: What CPAs Must Get Right

The health insurance deduction for S corp owners involves a precise chain of steps — payroll add-back, W-2 Box 1 inclusion, and a 1040 deduction — that most payroll platforms get wrong by default. This guide gives CPAs a staff-ready workflow to execute the deduction correctly on every return…

Installment Sale Reporting: How CPAs Handle Principal and Interest Splits for Clients

Installment sale reporting is one of the most workflow-intensive annual tasks a CPA can inherit — gross profit percentages that travel across years, depreciation recapture that hits in Year 1 regardless of cash received, and related-party resale traps that can accelerate a client's entire gain…

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion: How CPAs File for Expat Clients

Most FEIE content is written for taxpayers, not for the CPA managing a queue of expat returns. This guide covers Form 2555 mechanics, a repeatable decision tree for choosing between the foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign tax credit, state tax traps, and how to package expat work as a…

Amended Tax Return Workflow: How CPAs Fix Client Errors Without Chaos

Amended returns are a profit-draining blind spot for most CPA firms — handled reactively, scoped poorly, and almost never priced correctly. This guide maps a repeatable amended tax return workflow covering intake triage, QA delegation, IRS tracking, and billing so every 1040-X your firm processes…

Clergy Tax Returns: How CPAs Handle Minister Housing Allowances and Self-Employment

Clergy tax returns sit at the intersection of employment law, IRS code, and church governance — a combination that trips up even experienced CPAs. This guide walks through minister dual tax status, the Section 107 housing allowance exclusion, self-employment tax obligations, voluntary withholding…

Agency Information Collection Activities: IRS Seeks Comments on Contractor Disclosure Burden

The IRS published a Paperwork Reduction Act comment request on July 27, 2026, targeting the disclosure of return information under written contractor agreements for tax administration. Small and mid-size CPA firms that serve government contractors, nonprofits, or multi-entity clients with IRS…

Information Reporting and Transfer for Valuable Consideration Rules: What CPA Firms Must Do Now

The IRS published final regulations on July 9, 2026 that extend information reporting and transfer for valuable consideration rules to Section 1035 exchanges of life insurance contracts. Small and mid-size CPA firms with individual and business clients holding life insurance policies need to act…

Qualified Domestic Trust Regulations Under Section 2056A Revised by IRS

The IRS published final regulations on July 10, 2026, revising the Qualified Domestic Trust rules under Section 2056A to eliminate outdated references and modernize filing procedures. CPA firms with clients who have noncitizen spouses in estate plans need to review open files now. Here is what…

Increase in Threshold for Requiring Information Reporting

On July 2, 2026, the IRS published a hearing notice for proposed regulations (REG-113229-25) that would raise the dollar thresholds triggering 1099 information reporting and backup withholding for trade or business payments. CPA firms serving self-employed clients, S-corps, partnerships, and…

Form 8879-TA IRS: What CPA Firms Need to Know

Form 8879-TA is the IRS e-file authorization taxpayers must sign before a CPA electronically files a trust or estate return. This guide covers exactly who signs, what records you must keep, and how modern practice management software eliminates the friction around collecting and storing these…

Nonprofit Audit Preparation: How CPAs Streamline Form 990 and Compliance Reviews

Nonprofit audit preparation is one of the most document-intensive engagements a CPA firm handles — combining Form 990 accuracy, Uniform Guidance compliance, and board governance reviews into a single high-stakes workflow. This guide walks through the full nonprofit audit lifecycle and shows how…

CAF Number for CPAs: What It Is, How to Get One, and Why It Matters

Your CAF number is more than a one-time IRS registration — it is the foundation of every client authorization your firm will ever file. This guide explains what the centralized authorization file number is, how to obtain it through Form 2848 and IRS e-services, and how growing CPA firms use…

Form 8879-TA: What CPAs Need to Know About the E-File Signature Authorization for Trump Account Elections

Form 8879-TA, released in December 2025, is the IRS e-file signature authorization for Form 4547, Trump Account Election(s) — not for trusts and estates (that's Form 8879-F). This guide covers when 8879-TA is required, who signs it, the Practitioner PIN rules, ERO responsibilities, and retention…

IRS Installment Agreement CPAs: How to Negotiate Payment Plans for Clients

When clients owe back taxes they cannot pay in full, a properly negotiated IRS installment agreement is often the fastest path to resolution. This guide walks CPAs through eligibility thresholds, Form 9465, streamlined versus non-streamlined agreements, Direct Debit advantages, and how AI-powered…

Returns Relating to Sales or Exchanges of Certain Partnership Interests: What CPAs Must Do Now

The IRS published final regulations on May 20, 2026 modifying information reporting obligations for sales or exchanges of certain partnership interests — specifically those holding inventory or unrealized receivables. CPA firms with partnership clients need to review engagement scope, update…