For decedents dying in 2010, Congress provided two systems of taxing estates and determining basis of their assets. Executors of those estates must determine the better course. To do so, especially for valuations of gross estates above the new $5 million exclusion, they must take many factors and considerations into
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Personal financial planning
PFP Services Guidelines
CPAs providing personal financial planning services to individual clients in estate, retirement, tax, investment and/or insurance planning need to ensure they are meeting their professional responsibilities. The AICPA Statement on Responsibilities in Personal Financial Planning Practice (SOR) provides guidance that can help protect against unforeseen risks of litigation. Here are
House Passes Bill With Tax Patent Provision, Sends Back to Senate
On Thursday, by a vote of 304–117, the House of Representatives passed the America Invents Act (H.R. 1249), which includes a provision intended to stop the granting of patents for tax strategies. The bill would deem any “strategy for reducing, avoiding, or deferring tax liability” to be prior art, and
SEC Proposes Audits of Broker-Dealers’ Custody Practices
The SEC proposed rules that it said would strengthen the annual audits of broker-dealers by requiring an increased focus on their custody activities. Current rules require broker-dealers to protect and account for customer assets. The proposed rule amendments would mandate an audit of those controls. Comments on the proposal are
Plug-In Electric Cars Get a Jolt From Tax Incentives
With manufacturers now promoting their new plug-in electric models, the cars have caught up with the buyer tax credit Congress dangled for them three years ago. CPAs’ clients are likely to ask about this and other tax breaks for plug-in electrics. Although the Chevy Volt was available only in a
Seven Good Reasons Credit Shelter Trusts Remain Relevant
At first glance, a new provision of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 might seem to have provided by law what estate planners have traditionally provided for their clients by setting up one or more trusts: a way to ensure that the estate or
Strategies for Compromising Tax Debts
Representing financially distressed individuals is becoming increasingly common with the economic difficulties many individuals and businesses have experienced in recent years. While tax practitioners know that a taxpayer can make an offer in compromise, some of the options available in making an offer are not well-known. This article addresses three
Personal Financial Planning
Seventy-nine percent of CPA financial planners have at least one baby boomer client who has delayed retirement because of the economy, according to an AICPA survey. Asked how many extra years those boomer clients expect to work, 32.3% of CPA financial planners said one to three years; 39.3% said four
Scholarships and Support
Tax preparers may have problems determining the dependency status of a student who lives with, but is not the child of, a taxpayer, especially when the student has proceeds from a scholarship or tax-deferred education account or loan. While this is not a common situation, such a scenario may require
IRS Delays Due Date for Choosing Basis Allocation for Decedents Dying in 2010
The IRS announced that it is delaying the due date for Form 8939, Allocation of Increase in Basis for Property Acquired From a Decedent, past its original April 18 due date, but did not announce what the new due date will be (IR-2011-33). Therefore, for decedents who died in 2010,
IRA Charitable Distributions No Panacea
The extension for 2010 and 2011 of IRA qualified charitable distributions may encourage your clients to include them in their financial planning. Yet while it is true that completing a direct contribution from an IRA is pre-tax, this is hardly unique to contributing from an IRA, and in reality other
Rothenberg Earns PFP Distinguished Service Award
Irv Rothenberg received the 2010 Personal Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award. The award, presented at the 2011 Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference in Las Vegas, is given annually to an AICPA volunteer who significantly contributes to the advancement of personal financial planning as a practice discipline. Rothenberg, founder and managing
Post-Death Estate Planning Issues for 2010
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (2010 Tax Relief Act) (PL 111-312) revised tax law for estates of decedents dying in 2010, 2011 or 2012. The new rules apply for 2010 unless an executor elects to use prior law. Elections for 2010 decedents can
Breitbard Honored for Lifetime Achievement in Financial Planning
Stanley H. Breitbard, of Los Angeles, received the first Personal Financial Planning Lifetime Achievement Award for his pioneering work developing the practice area in the CPA profession and for his contributions to improving financial literacy across the country. The award, which was presented at the 2011 Advanced Personal Financial Planning
Senate Passes Bill Addressing Tax Strategy Patents
The Senate voted 95–5 Tuesday to pass the America Invents Act (S 23), which was formerly called the Patent Reform Act. Included in the bill is a provision intended to stop the granting of patents for tax strategies. That provision, in section 14 of the bill, would deem any “strategy
News Highlights for March 2011
Following years of advocacy efforts and a legal battle, CPAs received a permanent exemption from the Federal Trade Commission’s Red Flags Rule with President Barack Obama’s December signing of the Red Flag Program Clarification Act of 2010. The Red Flags Rule, which was released Nov. 9, 2007, under the
Many Baby Boomers See Retirement Delayed at Least Four Years
Half of baby boomer clients who have postponed retirement due to the economic downturn expect to work at least four years longer than they originally planned, according to CPA financial planners surveyed by the AICPA. That’s even with resurging confidence in the stock market, which, with recent gains, is helping replenish
Multistate Tax Considerations for S Corporations
Many S corporations do business in multiple states and must file income or other tax returns in them. Many states have been more aggressive in going after out-of-state companies doing business in their states. Many of these businesses do not realize they have an exposure to a state’s taxes until
Ponzi-Scheme Losses: Indirect Investor and State Tax Issues
Ponzi schemes continue to come to light regularly. After 2008, when Bernard Madoff’s $65 billion Ponzi scheme was exposed, the SEC made comprehensive reforms to better detect fraud within the 11,000 regulated investment advisers and 8,000 mutual funds that it oversees, according to the SEC’s description of those reforms (tinyurl.com/2fu6eog).
Save Time and Trouble With General Asset Accounts
Small and medium-size entrepreneurial businesses are sometimes blessed with a good idea but many similar or identical capital assets and not much time or accounting prowess to keep track of them all individually. Larger businesses may seek more efficient tax treatment for standard capital assets, such as laptop computers issued
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SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
From The Tax Adviser
November 30, 2025
Digital asset transactions: Broker reporting, amount realized, and basis
October 31, 2025
Recent developments in estate planning
October 31, 2025
