Tax & Financial Planning for Retirement 2026 - 18 CPE

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This presentation integrates federal taxation with retirement planning. The course will examine tax and savings strategies related to determining retirement income needs, wealth building, capital preservation, and estate distribution. The result is a unified explanation of tax economics that will permit the tax professional to locate, analyze, and solve the financial aspects of retirement. Designed to improve the quality of services to clients and the profitability of engagements, this program projects the accountant into the world of retirement planning. This course will give the participant practice in analyzing problems, developing solutions, and presenting final personal retirement plans to clients. The emphasis is on practical simplicity in dealing with the self-employed and highly compensated individual.
Completion Deadline & Exam: This course, including the examination, must be completed within one year of the date of purchase. In addition, unless otherwise indicated, no correct or incorrect feedback for any exam question will be provided.
Course Level: Overview. This program is appropriate for professionals at all organizational levels.
Field of Study: Taxes
Prerequisite: General understanding of federal income taxation.
Advanced Preparation: None
Learning Assignments & Objectives
As a result of studying each assignment, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below each assignment.
Chapter 1 Financial Tax Planning
At the start of Chapter 1, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Goals v. purposes
* Investment purposes
* Myths of retirement
* Investment goals
* Investment needs of five critical decades
* Investment vehicles & entities
* Retirement—the ultimate objective
* Retirement costs & income needs
* Retirement plan development
* Basic planning elements
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 1, participants will be able to:
1. Differentiate short-term financial goals and investment purposes.
2. Specify ways to hold title to assets, starting with the simplest and most direct way to hold property and citing the tax benefits and drawbacks of co-tenancies, corporations (both C & S), partnerships, qualified retirement plans, and trusts
3. Recognize the importance of early retirement planning using a balance sheet method and identify cost and income needs, specifying the purpose of savings.
After studying the materials in Chapter 1, answer exam questions 1 to 11.
Chapter 2 Building an Estate
At the start of Chapter 2, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Types of income
* Information reporting on taxable income
* Rules of budgeting
* Cash
* Acquisition
* Assets
* Rules of management
* Managing risk
* Taxes
* Leverage
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 2, participants will be able to:
1. Identify money management, specifying income types, recognize causes of increased taxable income for itemizing taxpayers, and specify taxable income types and their proper reporting.
2. Determine the distinctions between tax-free and tax deferred income, and identify tax-deferred investments.
3. Specify ways to shelter income, stating how income sheltering amplifies investment return.
4. Recognize the budgeting of income into cash by containing expenditures and developing discretionary income and determine how to convert income into assets by purchasing investments
5. Specify tax-advantaged investments citing management rules and determine the economic impact of accelerating deductions.
After studying the materials in Chapter 2, answer exam questions 12 to 29.
Chapter 3 Preservation of Wealth
At the start of Chapter 3, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Obstacles to preservation
* Tracking spending
* Building savings
* Designing a budget
* Determining worth
* Analyzing net worth
* Ignorance
* Inflation
* Taxes
* Tax planning tactics
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 3, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the barriers to wealth preservation, stating how to design a budget to increase discretionary income and determine net worth using a balance sheet.
2. Specify why individuals should take primary responsibility for investment planning and recognize basis planning tactics.
After studying the materials in Chapter 3, answer exam questions 30 to 34.
Chapter 4 Deferral
At the start of Chapter 4, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Elements of like-kind exchanges
* Related party exchanges
* Personal & multiple property regulations
* Delayed (deferred) exchange regulations
* Actual & constructive receipt rule
* Qualified contribution plans
* Tax-deferred annuities
* Installment sales
* At-risk rule
* Deferred compensation and options
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 4, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the benefits of tax deferral and recall the tax deferral advantage under §1031, listing its elements.
2. Specify the related party §1031 restrictions, identifying prohibited parties or entities, disallowance of personal property and partnership exchanges, and recognize the use of an intermediary in exchanges.
3. Identify retirement plan design and list popular methods for providing for retirement.
4. Specify the requirements for an installment sale, identify the application of the at-risk rules, and determine how to use a property option to receive income and postpone tax.
After studying the materials in Chapter 4, answer the exam questions 35 to 49.
Chapter 5 Reduction
At the start of Chapter 5, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Work Opportunity Credit & Rehabilitation Credit
* Low Income Housing Credit & Child & Dependent Care Credit
* Estimated taxes
* Interest
* Automobile deductions
* Business entertainment deductions
* Depreciation & cost recovery
* Net operating losses
* Tax breaks for nonitemizers
* Amended returns
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 5, participants will be able to:
1. Identify tax credits specifying qualified computational expenses, limitations, and restrictions.
2. Recognize the types of deductible and nondeductible interest, including personal, investment, and prepaid interest.
3. Identify business vehicle operating costs using (or switching between) the actual cost method or the standard mileage rate.
4. Recall the statutory exceptions to the disallowance of entertainment deductions and recognize the application of R.R. 90-23 and R.R. 99-7 to the deduction of transportation costs to a temporary work location.
5. Determine the requirements of business asset expensing under §179 and identify sources of §172 net operating losses (NOLs), recognizing carryback and carryover rules.
After studying the materials in Chapter 5, answer the exam questions 50 to 65.
Chapter 6 Income Splitting
At the start of Chapter 6, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Using progressive tax rates
* Deductible business expenses
* Home-office deduction
* C or regular corporations
* S corporations
* Family partnerships
* Kiddie tax trap
* Childcare & education
* Gifts
* Interest-free loans
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 6, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize formats for income splitting, determine the restricted tax treatment of employee business expenses, and cite changes made to home office deduction under TRA ’97.
2. Identify the tax treatment of personal and business casualty losses and bad debts.
3. Determine the uses and tax characteristics of regular and S corporations by recognizing the taxation of these entities, including their ability to split income.
4. Recognize the use of partnerships to split income among partners and reduce estate taxes.
5. Identify the use of custodianship to split income, specifying “kiddie” tax considerations and recognize good investments for children, including bonds.
After studying the materials in Chapter 6, answer the exam questions 66 to 78.
Chapter 7 Elimination
At the start of Chapter 7, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* $500,000 home sale exclusion
* Municipal bonds
* Divorce & separation settlements
* Gifts & inheritances
* Life insurance
* Fringe benefits
* Taxation & valuation of benefits
* Employee expense reimbursement & reporting
* Fixed & variable rate allowances
* Social security
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 7, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the requirements of the current §121 home sale exclusion, citing its differences with prior tax law and specify the tax elimination aspects of interfamily transactions such as divorce and gifts.
2. Recognize employer deductions as a means to increase tax-free incentive-based compensation for employees using fringe benefits under §132 and employer-paid accident & health coverage.
3. Identify how to comply with ERISA plan requirements, and specify the proper reporting of reimbursed and unreimbursed business expenses under accountable and nonaccountable plans.
After studying the materials in Chapter 7, answer the exam questions 79 to 86.
Chapter 8 Estate Planning
At the start of Chapter 8, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Unlimited marital deduction
* Applicable exclusion amount
* Stepped-up basis
* Basic estate planning goals
* Simple will
* Types of trusts
* Charitable trusts
* Insurance trusts
* Family documents
* Private annuities
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 8, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the unlimited marital deduction, including its effect on the gross estate of the value of property, specify the applicable exclusion amounts for various years of death, determine a “stepped-up basis” for inherited assets, and identify the function of probate.
2. Identify estate planning goals, recognize the benefits and drawbacks of the primary dispositive plans and specify the various types of estate trusts and family estate documents.
After studying the materials in Chapter 8, answer the exam questions 87 to 99.
Chapter 9 Asset Protection
At the start of Chapter 9, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Need for asset protection
* Types of creditors
* Fraudulent transfers
* Preparation for asset protection
* Types of insurance
* Buy-sell agreements
* Individual ownership & corporate ownership
* Asset protection aspects of trusts
* Co-tenancy & partnerships
* Divorce
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 9, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the goals and purposes of asset protection, recognizing the objections some people have about shielding assets from creditors, citing situations that can unexpectedly put assets and financial security at stake and explaining basic protection concepts.
2. Recognize the importance of creditor types associated with asset protection and fraudulent transfers.
3. Specify fraudulent transfer laws listing badges of fraud, and define statutes of limitation, criminal penalties, and permissible asset transfers.
4. Recognize the degree and necessity of an asset protection plan using net worth and asset values on a balance sheet.
5. Identify the ways that insurance and buy-sell agreements can offer asset protection, citing the asset protection elements of homeowner's, automobile, and disability insurance.
6. Recognize the asset protection advantages and disadvantages of ownership formats and entities, determining the use of individual ownership and corporate ownership, and identifying testamentary trusts, living trusts, and subcategories of trusts
7. Identify the requirements for an enforceable marital agreement, and determine what constitutes post-nuptial and premarital agreements, stating how they relate to divorce settlements and divisions.
After studying the materials in Chapter 9, answer the exam questions 100 to 120.
Notice
This course and test have been adapted from materials and information contained in the above text and any supplemental material provided. This course is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice and assumes no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. Since laws are constantly changing, and are subject to differing interpretations, we urge you to do additional research and consult appropriate experts before relying on the information contained in this course to render professional advice.