Finding Answers Using Today s Technology: 2017

Transcription

1 Tax Research Tips: Finding Answers Using Today s Technology: 2017 Using my ipad let me show you several helpful apps and Internet research options. I use these techniques daily, they help me, and I know you will find them equally helpful. Codification: This was updated October It has the entire US Code, including Title 26, of the IRC. Since it has not been recently updated, it has limited usefulness on 26 USC, but it is useful to have due to having the balance of the USC. See for example IRC 181. For 99 cents, it is worth it, but I wish it were updated more frequently. Other Low Cost Internal Revenue Code Applications: There are a few other choices, very inexpensive. Down side, the programs are a bit out of date, always check the version history on the application. Still, given the slower rate of change in IRC recently, these are decent programs, and are of use. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 1

2 Also, consider Law Libe found at thelawpod.com Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 2

3 USC Title 26 I have been using this application on my ipad and for teaching and I like this one quite a bit. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 3

4 Tax Essentials: Bloomberg BNA Quick Tax Reference Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 4

5 A good resource for this year and prior year essential data. Has data from Cost, free! Very useful, sort of the world s shortest Master Tax Guide. Unfortunately, no update, as of April 21, 2017, beyond the March 01, 2016 update. Sorry, nothing yet Tax Guide put out by Columbus Life Insurance Company is very useful. Free! Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 5

6 This is a very good application. It has not only tax reference guides, but it also has 2017 tax calculators. Very, very useful. Excellent, highly recommended. A variant of this is the W & S Financial Group Distributors (2017 WSFGD Tax Guide) which has BOTH 2016 and 2017 data. That appears to be the difference. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 6

7 Tax Utility App: This is meant for the iphone, but I have it on my ipad. It is good for what it offers. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 7

8 International Taxation: This is fairly interesting. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 8

9 I don t know much about foreign taxation, just a little bit, but this looks helpful. Their guides can then be downloaded to kindle or pdf format readers. Tax Foundation Facts and Figures This is more of a policy app, but very useful, especially if you like fiscal/economic tax facts. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 9

10 BOOKS: Thomson Reuters Proview: I teach for Thomson Reuters, Gear Up specifically, and I receive many tax books on Proview. Quite simply, Proview consists of tax books on a Kindle like platform, but restricted to Thomson Reuter books. If you attend Gear Up Tax Seminars, you can access our Business Entities Manual and our 1040 Manual and research from there. Very ideal. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 10

11 Tax Books: I purchase ebooks and have many on my Kindle reader on the ipad. Old-fashioned tax textbooks can be extremely helpful. Let me share a few: Caron s Tax Stories, 2d (Law Stories) discusses 11 seminal Supreme Court cases, each court case a subject of its own chapter, discussing not only the history, the decision, but also the impact on the present. Really, really invaluable. Taxation of S Corporations in a Nutshell by Kahn, which now is in the revised 2 nd edition, is a very good introduction to S corporations. I have read it several times for class preparation. A Student s Guide to the Internal Revenue Code Sixth Edition, I. Richard Gershon and Jeffrey A. Maine, an academic book teaching you how to read the statutes in the IRS. I am currently rereading the book. Some fine insights. Reading the Code is always the foundation of our work. CALI: Free textbooks, some very up to date. For example: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 11

12 The January 2017 edition of U.S. Federal Income Taxation of Individuals 2017 by Deborah A. Geier is even available as a kindle edition. Useful. Even has hypertext links to Code and Regs! Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 12

13 Please note that some of these books can be purchased through Lulu for a nominal price. So, if you like a printed book, this is quite the resource. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 13

14 CALIFORNIA RESEARCH: Spidell: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 14

15 Quick Example: Helping a client with an installment agreement, search the database of California Taxletter, search the words: installment agreement. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 15

16 And link to the article and read and study. California Research: FTB Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 16

17 Also of use is the Penalty Abatement Chart: IRS: Publication 17: This is now available. You can download to an ibook file or save to kindle as a pdf, and it displays well and gives you a complete Table of Contents. You can save Pub 334 to kindle too. The Internal Revenue Manual can be found at Especially valuable, Part 5 for collection issues, and Part 4 for audit issues. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 17

18 Tax Prof Blog: I mentioned Paul Caron under kindle, in regards to Tax Stories. Well, Professor Caron has a sensational free site, taxprof.typepad.com/. Constant updates on tax law changes, with a lot of emphasis on law schools, and continuing coverage on the IRS (great stuff!). Fabulous. Kiplinger Tax Letter For a nominal cost, absolutely worthwhile. Not for deep research, but excellent for update, things you should know about, items easy to miss, what you should know. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 18

19 Little known free newsletter: Tax Notes: This is one of the Tax Analysts services. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 19

20 Research: You have Tax Notes Today for timely daily news. You also have Federal Research Library. However, under Publications you also have Tax Practice, which is a short version, Reader s Digest version, if you will, of Tax Notes Magazine. When you search a limited database, it is sometimes easier to find information. For example, you might wish to start with their shorter weekly magazine: Tax Practice. For example, just reviewing the issue dated April 17, and scrolling table of contents, we find these fascinating and still pertinent headlines: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 20

21 LOCAL MEETINGS: I learn so much from meeting groups. One presenter mentioned the Rago case which I followed. I heard about the case for the first time from Ernest Howard s group. Once you hear about something, once it has entered your consciousness, it stays with you. I saw the decision on RIA Checkpoint. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 21

22 Or, Spidell search: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) Los Angeles California Page 22

23 RIA CHECKPOINT: This is the site I use most frequently. There are so many ways to search, by specifics, by citation, for example. Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 23

24 Keyword search: Finding Answers Using Today s Technology: 2017 Choose database, consider limiting the database: Search terms: And scan through the results and READ: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 24

25 Federal Tax Coordinator 2d K Legal or equitable ownership of mortgaged property-who can deduct interest. In general, interest can be deducted by only the person (or persons) liable for the underlying debt, see K-5120 et seq. But where a taxpayer isn't directly liable for a mortgage debt, he's still entitled to a deduction for the mortgage interest payments that he actually makes, but only if he's the legal or equitable owner of the mortgaged property, see K A taxpayer becomes the beneficial or equitable owner of mortgaged property (allowing him to deduct mortgage interest on that property) when he assumes the benefits and burdens of ownership. 16 Whether, and when, this has occurred is determined under state law, 16.1 on a case-by-case basis And you might want to link to K Federal Tax Coordinator 2d K Mortgage interest-where taxpayer isn't personally liable for the debt. Where a taxpayer isn't directly liable for a mortgage debt, he's still entitled to a deduction for the mortgage interest payments that he actually makes, but only if he's the legal or equitable owner of the mortgaged property. 10 For when a taxpayer is treated as the legal or equitable owner of property, see K Comprehensive Example: Client came to me, attended college outside the US, obtained a scholarship, what are the tax consequences? I know that Internal Revenue Code Section 117 speaks to scholarships. I started with RIA Checkpoint, searching IRC 117: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 25

26 By the way, if you don t know the Code Section, you could start with ProView and go to the Gear Up 1040 manual and go to the chapter on education and find this: I then read IRC 117, and focused on: (b) Qualified scholarship. For purposes of this section (1) In general. The term qualified scholarship means any amount received by an individual as a scholarship or fellowship grant to the extent the individual establishes that, in accordance with the conditions of the grant, such amount was used for qualified tuition and related expenses. (2) Qualified tuition and related expenses. For purposes of paragraph (1), the term qualified tuition and related expenses means (A) tuition and fees required for the enrollment or attendance of a student at an educational organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii), and (B) fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses of instruction at such an educational organization. Document Title: 117 Qualified scholarships. Checkpoint Source:Internal Revenue Code (RIA) 2017 Thomson Reuters/Tax & Accounting. All Rights Reserved. From there I went to IRC 170(b)(1)(A)(ii), and read: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 26

27 (ii) an educational organization which normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of pupils or students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on, Document Title: 170 Charitable, etc., contributions and gifts. Checkpoint Source:Internal Revenue Code (RIA) 2017 Thomson Reuters/Tax & Accounting. All Rights Reserved. And clicked on FTC which led to: K-3724, and then to: And in K-3724, I read about: In ruling that scholarships granted to children of a U.S. corporation's expatriate employees for attending schools located outside the U.S. were tax-free qualified scholarships, IRS indicated that educational organizations can be foreign. The schools at issue encompassed pre-kindergarten through high school Document Title: K-3724 Educational organizations as 50% charities. Checkpoint Source:Federal Tax Coordinator Analysis (RIA) 2017 Thomson Reuters/Tax & Accounting. All Rights Reserved. And to footnote 10.1, which linked to: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 27

28 A Word About Google: Sometimes a well-placed word search can lead to some great results. I am in the midst of dealing with an issue that led me to do the following google word search: Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 28

29 Without getting into too much detail, these hits are worth looking at and from there tracing back into the source documents. So, judicious use of google can also be a winning approach. One non app: A book, not an e-book. Taxation In Six Concepts A Student s Guide by Anne L. Alstott. An absolutely essential text about taxes. Spend the time to read it twice and you can thank me later. It will make a profound difference in your professional tax life. Or your money back! Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 29

30 Conclusion (for now): Research is a process, of hunting, of searching, of refining, of reading, of linking from place to place, of thinking, of weighing authorities, a fun car rally if you will, a game of strategy, an exploration. Absolutely exhilarating. I hope that this guide is a good beginning. The main point of research is to play, to read, to think, to explore and to NEVER give up. Abe Carnow April 22, 2017 Abe Carnow, CPA (323) acarnow@pacbell.net Los Angeles California Page 30