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CPA TCP notes · Tax Compliance and Planning

Deeper tax for individuals, entities and planning. Updated for OBBBA. The exam is 4 hours with 68 multiple choice questions and 7 task-based simulations.

Blueprint areas

Chapters

  1. Individual compliance and planning. Equity compensation and §83(b); AMT; imputed interest and foreign earned income; the kiddie tax; timing income and deductions; FSAs and HSAs; itemizing; estimated tax; donating noncash property; NIIT and additional Medicare tax planning
  2. Passive activity and at-risk limits. At-risk amounts and qualified nonrecourse financing; the seven material participation tests; passive netting; the $25,000 rental allowance; real estate professionals; suspended losses on disposition; reviewing basis schedules
  3. Gift tax compliance and planning. Form 709; annual exclusion and gift splitting; marital and charitable deductions; the unified credit and cumulative gifts; trusts and Crummey powers; choosing property to give
  4. Personal financial planning. Traditional and Roth IRAs, 401(k)s and annuities; investment risk; education funding and 529 plans; life, long-term care and umbrella insurance; ownership and beneficiary designations; after-tax return
  5. C corporations and their shareholders. §351 contributions, boot and §357(c); nonliquidating and liquidating distributions of property; E&P; shareholder loans, imputed interest and constructive dividends
  6. C corporation losses and consolidated returns. Net operating and capital loss utilization; §382 after an ownership change; affiliated groups and Form 851; intercompany transactions; consolidated NOLs and SRLY
  7. International tax basics. Sourcing of income; foreign corporations with U.S. operations and withholding; controlled foreign corporations; permanent establishment; branch versus subsidiary
  8. S corporations: shareholder basis and transactions. Stock and debt basis with noncash property and debt; ordering rules; AAA and prior C corporation E&P; property distributions; liquidations; income after a sale of shares
  9. Partnerships: partner basis, allocations and elections. §722 basis and holding period; §752 recourse and nonrecourse debt; §704(c); services by a partner; property distributions; partnership elections; sale of an interest and §743(b)
  10. Trusts. Simple, complex, grantor and revocable trusts; grantor, trustee, beneficiaries and corpus; income versus corpus; accounting income, DNI, the distribution deduction and taxable income
  11. Tax-exempt organizations. Qualifying under §501(c)(3); losing exempt status; types of unrelated business income
  12. Forming and liquidating entities. Entity choice by legal characteristics; formation results across entity types; C, S and partnership liquidations compared (§§331, 332, 336, 731, 732, 751)
  13. Tax planning for C corporations. Capital structure; compensation versus dividends; using loss carryovers; state and local planning; timing under changing rates; estimated tax; §531 and PHC defenses
  14. Tax planning for S corporations. Reasonable compensation; 2% shareholder benefits; built-in gains tax planning; excess passive income; ending the S election; shareholder loans; the election to distribute AEP first
  15. Tax planning for partnerships. Contributing appreciated or depreciated property; guaranteed payments versus distributions; §736 payments to a retiring partner; §754 with §743(b) and §734(b)
  16. Nontaxable dispositions. §1031 like-kind exchanges, timing rules, boot and replacement basis; §1033 involuntary conversions; reviewing exchanges
  17. Character of gains and losses and installment sales. Realized and recognized gain; §1231 netting and lookback; §§1245, 1250 and 291 recapture; unrecaptured §1250 gain; §1244 and §1202 stock; §453 installment sales; reviewing disposition schedules
  18. Related parties and imputed interest. Related parties and constructive ownership; §267 loss disallowance and later gain; §1239; §7872 below-market loans
  19. IRS forms workshop. Forms 1040 and schedules, 709, 1120 with M-1, M-3 and 851, 1120-S, 1065, 4562, 4797, 6252 and 8824