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Virginia Cooperative Extension -
 Knowledge for the CommonWealth

2005 Virginia Tech Income Tax School -- 2 Seminars, 12 Virginia Locations -- Scheduled October through December

Farm Business Management Update, October/November 2005

By L. Leon Geyer (geyer@vt.edu), Professor, Agricultural Law, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Virginia Tech

This year is the 45th year that Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, the Virginia Department of Taxation, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have cooperated in bringing programs to the people who assist taxpayers in preparing and filing federal and state income tax returns. The Income Tax Seminar is Virginia's largest workshop for tax practitioners.

Faculty from Virginia Tech, staff from the IRS, private tax practitioners, and the Virginia Department of Taxation will examine new tax laws and their implications and will examine case studies to interpret new regulations.

The Virginia Tech Income Tax Seminars are scheduled at ten Virginia locations this year. The seminars will occur in November and December 2005. They feature an intensive study of tax law and regulations governing individual, farm, and small business taxes. They are designed for people with income tax experience who assist taxpayers in preparing and filing income tax returns. Preparation of both federal and state taxes will be covered. The topics for general session and special sessions on farm and forestry taxation can be found in the following pages.

This year we are offering a new seminar covering the basics. The "Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar" is designed for those who are new or returning to tax preparation and want a course in basic preparation. Dr. Guido van der Hoeven, North Carolina State University, presents the seminar. This seminar will be offered in October at two locations: Richmond and Falls Church.

Brochures for the seminars have been mailed to tax practitioners, CPAs, lawyers, Commissioners of the Revenue, and other past attendees. Brochures are also available in Extension Unit and District Offices. Registration forms can be duplicated, or the tax seminar registrar assistant can be contacted. Our web site (http://www.tax.vt.edu) includes all seminar information and an online registration form that can also be printed to mail or fax. Participants can complete the optional online registration using a credit card via our secure server at https://www.conted.vt.edu/ssl/tax/index.lasso for Income Tax Seminar or https://www.conted.vt.edu/ssl/taxprep/index.lasso for Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar.

Contact the Income Tax School Registrar at the Continuing Education Center:
Phone: (540) 231-4084
Fax: (540) 231-3306
E-mail: vttax@vt.edu for registration information.
Web: www.tax.vt.edu
For further information, please contact one of the following:
Program Director: (540) 231-4528 E-Mail: geyer@vt.edu

Income Tax Seminar
Income Tax Seminar Continuing Education Credit (for Accounting, CPA, EA): 17-21 hrs - 2 hr is Ethics, CLE: 12 hrs, CE Insurance: 16 hrs, CFPTM CE: 17-21 hrs.

Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. The registration fee includes a textbook, reference material, refreshment breaks, two luncheons, and the farm and forestry sessions. Lodging is not included. The Income Tax Workbook is a comprehensive study manual used in more than 30 states. It is written and reviewed by CPAs, tax attorneys, IRS agents, and tax practitioners.

Farm and Forestry Session
The special farm tax sessions are available to registered participants. Farm sessions take place from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at locations listed below. Virginia Tech's agricultural lawyer, Leon Geyer, teaches the farm tax sessions. He will address

2005 Farm location:

General Topics for Income Tax Seminar
The Income Tax Seminar general sessions will run each day from 8:15 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Experienced CPAs, EAs, IRS employees, and Virginia Department of Taxation employees, teach the general topics. They will address

New Legislation Including 2005 Energy Bill impacts on consumers
2005 legislation and other prior legislation; Update deduction for domestic production activities; Provisions from prior legislation that first become effective in 2005.

Rulings and Cases
Selected current rulings and cases issued in 2005.

Related Party Issues
Tax rules impose special restrictions on related parties; Definition of related parties among the various tax provisions; Interest income and deductions; Sale of assets at a loss; Like-kind exchanges; Renting to a related party.

Financial Distress
Income tax consequences of financial distress for both the debtor and the creditor; Repossessions of property; Other discharged debt; reporting requirements; Comparison of offers in compromise with bankruptcy as a means of dealing with tax liability.

Information Reporting
Information reporting requirements; Form 1099; Schedules K-1 rules; new forms and schedules.

Casualty Gains and Losses
Hurricane damage and other natural disasters; Income tax consequences and reporting requirements for property that was damaged or destroyed; Property that was sold or repaired as a result of the disaster.

Tax Elections
Key income tax elections; Regulations that allow an extension of time to make most elections; Table of the due dates; Table of method for all elections that are commonly made by practitioners.

Employment Tax Issues
Employment tax rules from both the employer's and the employee's point of view; Treatment of undocumented resident aliens.

Annual Income Tax Planning
Management of tax information in the practitioner's office to assure that all reporting and record keeping requirements are met and that the client receives effective tax planning advice; Planning tools that can be used before the end of the tax year and after the end of the year.

Exempt Organizations
How to apply for tax-exempt status for an organization; Organizations that do not qualify for exempt status; Employee compensation issues; Unrelated business income; Form 990 issues; Ministers; Religious organizations.

Alternative Minimum Tax
What practitioners need to know to properly input information so that the computer program gets the right answer; Planning options to reduce tax liability-including the effect of the AMT credit; Supplement computations done by computer software.

Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates
(Common income tax issues that tax practitioners face as they prepare income tax returns for their clients) When and how to use trusts; How to identify abusive trusts; Grantor trusts that do not need to file a Form 1041; Form 8855 Election to Treat a Qualified Revocable Trust as Part of an Estate; Effect of a trust on income tax basis, I.R.C. ¤121 exclusion; Like-kind exchange from trust to an LLC.

Education Planning and Gifts to Minors
(Various options for claiming tax benefits for the costs of education) I.R.C. ¤529 plans; Education credit v. deduction; Table of education provisions.

Income Tax Aspects of Health Care Costs
Compare & Contrast income tax aspects of the income tax provisions for health care costs with an emphasis on health savings accounts; New guidance from the IRS.

Individual Taxpayer Issues
Tax treatment of time-shares; Implications of household employees; Charitable contributions; Tax reporting of items sold on internet.

Business Issues
(Business income and deductions) Net operating losses; Repairs v. capitalization; Meal deductions; Form 3115; Start-up costs & other I.R.C. ¤197 expenses.

Business Entities
This chapter is the first in a three-year cycle. This year covers the tax issues in forming a business entity: Issues in forming an LLC; Single member LLCs taxed as a disregarded entity; LLCs taxed as a partnership; C corporation or S corporation. (2006 book will cover operation of a business entity, and 2007 book will cover the dissolution of a business entity.)

IRS Issues
Key issues on which the IRS wants practitioners to be informed; IRS enforcement efforts; IRS taxpayer awareness issues.

Retirement Issues
Required minimum distribution rules; Taxation of distributions; Retirement savers credit; Comparison of tax-deferred retirement savings with investing after-tax dollars in investments that will result in capital gains.

Ethics
(Ethical issues tax practitioners face as they advise clients and prepare tax returns) How to research an issue to decide what position to take on a tax return (including the role of substantial authority and reasonable basis); Representing clients before the IRS; Liability for tax planning that fails; Charitable contributions.

Tax Rates and Useful Tables
Tax rates; Standard deductions; Exemptions deductions; Applicable interest rate; Table of credits that reports the amount of the credit; Refundable or not; Whether or not in can be used to reduce the AMT.

Dates and Locations of Virginia Tech Income Tax Seminars

November 7-8 Farm Session Nov. 7th
Richmond I (West)
Richmond Marriott West
4240 Dominion Blvd.
Phone: (804) 965-9500

November 9-10 Farm Session Nov. 9th
Staunton / Harrisonburg
Pleckert Center
Blue Ridge Community College
Route 11, Weyers Cave
Phone: (540) 234 9261

November 14-15 Farm Session Nov. 14th
Bristol
Holiday Inn Hotel
Suites & Convention Center
3005 Linden Drive
Phone: (276) 466-4100

November 16-17 Farm Session Nov. 16th
Roanoke
Holiday Inn Tanglewood
4468 Starkey Road SW
Phone: (540) 774 4400

November 21-22 Farm Session Nov. 21st
Lynchburg
Holiday Inn Select
601 Main Street
Phone: (434) 528 2500

November 28-29 Maryland Session Dec. 28th
Dulles
Hyatt Dulles
2300 Dulles Corner Blvd.
Phone: (703) 793 6887

November 30-December 1 Farm Session Nov. 30th
Fredericksburg
Holiday Inn Select
2801 Plank Road
Phone: (540) 786-8321

December 5-6 Farm Session Dec. 5th
Williamsburg
Crown Plaza Williamsburg
Route 60 East
Phone: (757) 220 2250

December 7-8 Farm Session Dec. 7th
Chesapeake
Holiday Inn (Greenbrier Parkway)
725 Woodlake Drive
Phone: (757) 523-1500

December 12-13
Richmond II (South)
Holiday Inn Select Koger Center
1021 Koger Center Blvd.
Phone: (804) 379 3800

Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar
Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar Continuing Education Credit (for Accounting, CPA, & EA): 8 hrs CPE, CFPTM CE: 8 hrs

Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. The registration fee includes a workbook (problem set included), Problem Set Solution, refreshment breaks, and one luncheon. Lodging is not included.

General Topics Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar
The Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar is a one day seminar. Guido van der Hoeven, Director, N.C. State Income Tax School, will cover federal topics. Virginia topics will be covered in written form. Topics will cover

Virginia Tech Introductory Tax Preparation Seminar Locations
October 13: Richmond, Virginia Tech Richmond Center, 2810 Parham Road, Suite 300; Phone: (804) 662-7288. Check-In: 8:00 AM; Start: 8:30 AM; End: 4:45 PM

October 14: Virginia Tech, Northern Virginia Center, 7054 Haycock Road, Falls Church; Phone: (703) 538-TECH, tty: (703) 538-8314. Schedule: TBA

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