AICPA's 2008 Corporate Income Tax Returns Workshop by Sid Kess

Content refers to previous edition; please check back for updates.

• Chapter 1 - Summary of Major Corporate Tax Developments
  • Learning Objectives
  • 2007's Key Inflation-Indexed Figures
    • Standard Mileage Rate per Business Mile
    • High Low Per Diem Rates for Business Travel
    • Depreciation Dollar Caps for Business Vehicles (§280F)
    • §179 First Year Depreciation
    • Qualified Plans
  • Summary of Major Developments
    • Chapter 2 - S Corporations
    • Chapter 3 - Section 1244 Stock, Formation of a Corporation, Personal Service Corporations, and
    • Limited Liability Companies
    • Chapter 4 - Form 1120
    • Chapter 4 - Inventories
    • Chapter 4 - Accounting Methods
    • Chapter 4 - Installment and Deferred Payment Sales
    • Chapter 4 - Like-Kind Exchanges
    • Chapter 5 - Salaries and Wages
    • Chapter 5 - Expenses vs. Capital Expenditures
    • Chapter 5 - Charitable Contributions
    • Chapter 5 - Casualty and Theft Losses
    • Chapter 5 - Cost Recovery and Depreciation
    • Chapter 5 - Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS)
    • Chapter 5 - Election to Expense Depreciable Business Assets
    • Chapter 5 - Deduction for Domestic Production Activities
    • Chapter 6 - Retirement Plans
    • Chapter 6 - Other Deductions - Economic Performance
    • Chapter 6 - Travel and Entertainment
    • Chapter 6 - Employee Benefit Programs
    • Chapter 6 - Net Operating Loss (NOL) Deduction
    • Chapter 7 - Corporate Tax Credits
    • Chapter 7 - Foreign Tax Credit
    • Chapter 7 - Compliance Matters
• Chapter 2 - S Corporations
  • Learning Objectives
  • Advantages and Disadvantages of S Corporations
    • Advantages of S Corporation Election
    • Disadvantages of S Corporation Election
  • Eligibility and S Elections
    • Qualifying as an S Corporation
    • Corporations Ineligible for S Corporation Status
    • Subsidiaries of S Corporations
    • Electing S Status
    • Relief for Late S Elections
  • Corporate-Level Taxes Imposed on S Corporations
    • Overview
    • Excess Passive Investment Income
    • Built-In Gains Tax
    • LIFO Recapture Tax
    • Estimated Tax
  • S Corporation Pass-Through Treatment
    • Shareholder Deductibility of S Losses
    • Shareholder Stock Basis
    • Treatment of Distributions
    • Allocations upon Changes in Stock Ownership
  • Tax Years and Other Compliance Issues
    • Tax Year of S Corporation
    • Termination of S Status
    • Compensation and Fringe Benefits
    • Compliance Matters
• Chapter 3 - Section 1244 Stock, Formation of a Corporation, Personal Service Corporations, and Limited Liability Companies
  • Learning Objectives
  • Section 1244 Stock
    • Overview
    • Eligibility
    • Stock Issuance Rules
    • Tax Planning
    • Exceeding the $1,000,000 Capital Limit
    • Claiming the §1244 Loss
    • NOL Deduction from §1244 Stock§
  • Formation of a Corporation
    • Overview
    • Transfer of Assets into a Corporation
    • Transfer of Liabilities into a Corporation
  • Personal Service Corporations
    • Overview
    • Personal Service Corporation Tax Benefits
    • Personal Service Corporation Tax Pitfalls
    • Summary of PSC Tax Restrictions
    • Special PSC Rules
  • Limited Liability Companies
    • Overview
    • Issues with LLCs
    • Simplification of Entity Classification Rules ("Check-the-Box" Regs.)
• Chapter 4 - C Corporations and Items of Income
  • Learning Objectives
  • Form 1120
    • Book-Tax Reconciliation for Large Corporations (Schedule M-3)
  • Inventories
    • FIFO and LIFO Inventories
    • Estimated Shrinkage
    • Capitalizing Inventory Costs
    • Inventory Writedowns
  • Accounting Methods and Change of Accounting Method
    • Determination of Proper Accounting Method
    • Cash vs. Accrual Issues
    • Accrual to Cash Conversions: Under $1 Million Gross
    • Accrual to Cash Conversions: Under $10 Million Gross
    • General Change in Accounting Method
    • Change in Accounting Period
  • Long-Term Contracts
    • Permissible Accounting Methods
    • Exceptions to the Percentage-of-Completion Method
    • Look-Back Method
  • Installment and Deferred Payment Sales
    • Installment Sale Applications
    • Sales to Related Taxpayers
    • Liquidating Distributions of Installment Obligations
    • Electing Out of the Installment Method
    • Property Sold Subject to a Mortgage
    • Unstated Interest
    • Sale of an Installment Obligation
    • Reporting of Installment Sales
  • Capitalizing Construction and Development Costs
    • General Rules
    • Capitalization of Interest
    • Capitalization Rules for Farmers
  • Dividend Income
    • Dividends-Received Deduction
    • Distributions of Appreciated Property
    • Extraordinary Dividends
    • Stock Dividends and Stock Rights
    • Impact of Earnings and Profits on Dividend Taxability
  • Interest Income
    • Tax-Exempt Bonds
    • Original Issue Discount (OID)
    • Inflation-Indexed Bonds
    • Amortization of Bond Premium
  • Rental Income
    • Lease Payments
    • Lease Cancellation Payments
    • Passive Activity Status
  • Tax Treatment of Discharge of Debt
    • Discharge of Indebtedness
    • Qualified Real Property Business Indebtedness (QRPBI)
  • Accrual of State Tax Refund
  • Capital Gains and Losses
    • Ordinary vs. Capital Transactions
    • Deducting Capital Losses
    • Rollover of Gain from Sale of Publicly Traded Securities
  • Sales of Business Property
    • §1231 Assets
    • Depreciation Recapture
    • Summary of Depreciation Recapture Rules for Corporations
    • Depreciation Recapture and Installment Sales
    • Sales Between Related Taxpayers
  • Involuntary Conversions and Like-Kind Exchanges
    • Involuntary Conversions
    • Like-Kind Exchanges
• Chapter 5 - C Corporation Items of Deduction
  • Learning Objectives
  • Salaries and Wages
    • Overview
    • Severance Payments
    • Reasonable Compensation
    • Limit on Deduction for Executive Pay Over $1 Million
    • Golden Parachute Payments
    • Interest-Free or Below Market Interest Rate Loans as Compensation
    • Housing Assistance
    • Incentive Stock Options (ISO)
    • Nonqualified Stock Options (NQSO)
    • Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
  • Expenses vs. Capital Expenditures
    • Repairs
    • Intangible Capitalization
    • Treatment of Environmental Expenditures
    • Other Capitalization Issues
    • Proposed Regulations on Capitalization of Repairs and Tangible Property Expenditures
  • Bad Debts
    • Alternative Charge-off Methods
  • Rent Expense
    • Overview
    • Increasing or Decreasing Rents
    • Leased Computer Software
  • Tax Expense
    • Overview
    • Sales Tax as Part of Property Cost
    • Real Estate Taxes
    • State Income Taxes and Refunds
  • Interest Expense
    • Interest When Carrying Tax Exempt Securities
    • Prepaid Interest
    • Capitalizing Interest
    • Allocation of Interest Expense among S Corp. Expenditures
    • Related Taxpayers
  • Charitable Contributions
    • Overview
    • Property Contributions
    • Special 2½ Month Rule for Accrual Corporations
    • Donee Acknowledgment and Required Substantiation
  • Casualty and Theft Losses
    • Overview
    • Measuring Casualty Losses
    • Theft Losses
    • Claim for Reimbursement of Loss
    • Disaster Losses
    • New York Liberty Zone Tax Incentives
    • Gulf Opportunity Zone Tax Incentives
  • Amortization
    • Overview
    • Research and Experimental Expenditures
    • Corporate Organizational Expenditures
    • Amortizable Bond Premium
    • Lease Acquisition Costs
    • Business Start-Up Costs
    • Franchises, Trademarks, and Trade Names
    • Goodwill and Intangible Property
  • Cost Recovery and Depreciation
    • Depreciation Systems
    • Leasehold Improvements
    • Income-Forecast Method of Depreciation
    • Capitalization of Minor Cost Assets
    • Tax-Exempt Entity Leasing
    • Demolition Expenses
  • Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS)
    • Overview
    • MACRS Recovery Periods
    • Residential and Nonresidential Real Property
    • Percentage Tables Used for MACRS Calculations
    • Correction of Depreciable Class Life
    • Applicable Depreciation Conventions
    • Alternative Depreciation System
    • 30% and 50% First Year Bonus Depreciation
    • Recovery Periods for Short Tax Years
    • General Asset Accounts
    • Luxury Autos
    • Leased Automobiles
  • Election to Expense Depreciable Business Assets
    • Overview
    • Qualifying Property
    • Making the Election
    • Calculating the Deduction
    • Deduction Limits
    • $25,000 Vehicle Limit
    • Recapture of ~§~179 Expensed Amounts
    • Effect of Expensing on Corporate Earnings and Profits
    • Energy Efficient Commercial Building Expensing
  • Deduction for Domestic Production Activities
    • Overview
    • Eligible Production Income
    • The Wage Limitation
    • Eligibility Issues
    • Puerto Rico Part of U.S. for the PAD
    • Other PAD Changes Now Effective
    • Regulations for §199 - Online Software and Cooperatives
    • Calculating QPAI at Entity Level
    • Use of Statistical Sampling with §199
    • Other Proposed §199 Rules
• Chapter 6 - C Corporations Other Items of Deduction and Passive Activity Loss
  • Limitations
  • Learning Objectives
  • Retirement Plans
    • SIMPLE Retirement Plans
    • Qualified Plans
    • Nondiscrimination and Other Rules for Qualified Plans
    • Additional Requirements for a Qualified Pension, Profit-Sharing, or Stock Bonus Plan
    • "Cash or Deferred" Profit-Sharing Plans - §401(k) (CODAs)
  • Other Deduction Items
    • Timing - Economic Performance
    • "At-Risk" Limitation on Deducting Losses
    • Bribes, Kickbacks, Fines, Etc.
    • Lobbying Expenses
    • Advertising Expenses
  • Travel and Entertainment
    • Limits on Deductions for Meals, Travel, and Entertainment
    • Certain Travel Expense Limitations
    • Foreign Conventions
    • Entertainment Facilities
    • Substantiation Requirements for Away-from-Home Travel and Entertainment Expenses
    • Reimbursements of Employee Business Expenses
  • Employee Benefit Programs
    • Fringe Benefits
    • Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs)
    • Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
    • Tax Relief and Health Care Act HSA Modifications
    • Accident and Health Plans
    • Health FSA and HRA Rollovers to HSA
    • Cafeteria Plans
    • Employee Achievement Awards
    • Dependent Care Assistance to Employees
    • Educational Assistance Program
    • Group-Term Life Insurance
    • Split-Dollar Life Insurance
  • Net Operating Loss (NOL) Deduction
    • Overview
    • Computing an NOL
    • NOL Carryover Periods
    • Foregoing NOL Carryback
    • Amount of NOL Deduction
    • Intervening Year Adjustments
    • AMT NOL Computation
    • Capital Losses
    • Specified Liability Losses
    • Form 1139 Carryback Form
    • Loss Limitation Due to Change in Ownership
  • Limitation On Passive Activity Losses
    • Overview
    • Closely Held C Corporations
    • Passive Activity Rules Affecting Corporations
    • Disposition of a Passive Activity
    • Passive Activity Credits
    • Significant Participation
    • Material Participation
    • Treating Self-Charged Items of Income and Expense
    • Pass-Through Entities
    • Relief from PAL Rules for Real Estate Professionals
• Chapter 7 - C Corporations Tax Credits, Multiple Corporations, Corporate Taxes and
  • Compliance Matters, and Alternative Minimum Tax
  • Learning Objectives
  • Corporate Tax Credits
    • Organization of Tax Credits
    • Jobs Tax Credits
    • Tax Credit for Increasing Research Activities
    • Employer-Provided Child Care Credit
    • New Retirement Plans Credit
    • Low-Income Housing Credit
    • Disabled Access Credit
    • Empowerment Zone Employment Credit
    • Employer Social Security Credit on Tips
    • Home Contractor Energy Credit
    • Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit
  • Multiple Corporations
    • Limitation on Multiple Tax Benefits
    • Other Related-Corporation Rules
  • Foreign Tax Credit
    • Overview
    • Limitations on Foreign Tax Credit
    • Foreign Taxes Eligible for Credit
    • Period to Elect Deduction or Credit of Foreign Taxes
  • Corporate Penalty Taxes
    • Personal Holding Company Tax
    • Accumulated Earnings Tax
    • Corporate Distributions at a 15% Dividend Rate
    • Eliminating S Corporation AE&P
  • Corporate Taxes and Compliance Matters
    • Income Tax Return Preparer Changed to Tax Return Preparer
    • Payments and Penalties
    • Interest on Underpayments and Overpayments
    • Estimated Tax
    • Corporate Tax Rates
  • Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
    • Calculating Corporate AMT
    • Minimum Tax Credit (MTC)
    • 90% Limit on AMT Foreign Tax Credit Repeal
• Chapter 8 - Ethics Focus: Taxation
  • Ethics Overview
  • Recent Developments
  • Spotlight on Independence in Tax Services
  • Key Ethical Dilemmas and Judgment Calls
  • Addressing Ethical Dilemmas
  • Available Resources
• Chapter 9 - Latest Developments