Online Continuing Education – Pilot Courses

2009-2010 Individual & Employee Federal Tax Update

Running Time: 2h 42m
Credit Hours: 4

In this course, Vern discusses the current Tax Codes, cases and rulings affecting individual taxation.

Highlights of this Chapter:

· A discussion of personal exemptions including the stricter rules for qualifying a child as a dependent and who can claim the child after a divorce.

· Moving to a discussion on the new exclusion for unemployment income.

· Discussing the miscellaneous gross income items including social security and cancellation of debt (and how to avoid it).

· Marveling at the ways divorce attorneys can screw up the alimony requirements: this one is my favorites!

· Followed by a myriad of adjustments to gross income, such as health savings accounts and prepaid tuition accounts.

· Analyzing the new additions to the standard deduction for property taxes, cars and casualty losses.

· Reviewing itemized deductions, including the new charitable contribution rules, and an extensive discussion of how the IRS is denying home acquisition debt for the uninformed.

· Learning when a PhD can be deducted, and when it can’t, and when work clothes can be deducted, and when they can’t.

· We then move on to learning about the new casualty and theft loss deduction rules after the Madoff-like Ponzi schemes.

· And we’ll close with an examination of all the individual tax credits, including the new Work Pay credit and the new college credit called the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

· We’ll even slip in a discussion on the different payment options available to the taxpayer.

Learning Objectives:

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

· Recognize key tax changes effective in 2009, affecting individual and employee taxation.

· Identify numerous tax issues and provisions impacting your clients’ or employer’s tax returns.

· Apply various tax rates and computations to scenarios just like those you see in your office, to better prepare you for the upcoming tax season.

Prerequisites: A basic understanding of tax preparation.

Program Level: Update

Program Published to the Web: November 2009

No advance preparation required.

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Course Objectives

Vern Hoven Tax Seminars’ programs are focused on maintaining and improving professional competence in individuals who deal with issues regarding tax compliance (tax return preparation and review and IRS examinations, ruling requests and protests) and tax planning (applying tax rules to prospective transactions and understanding the tax implications of unusual or complex transactions; as well as recognizing alternative tax treatments and advising clients on tax saving opportunities).

Courses are designed to update participants about relative changes in tax codes, laws, rulings, decisions, interpretations, and any other important alteration affecting taxation and professionals working within the field of taxation.

Program Prerequisites

In order to get the most out of Vern's Federal Tax Update courses, you should have a basic understanding of tax preparation.

Program Level & Field of Study

Vern’s courses are all update courses tailored to the CPA, Enrolled Agent, tax lawyer or real estate professional who requires on-going education in the field of taxation. Update courses are geared toward participants with a background in the subject area who desire to keep abreast of current changes and developments within that subject area.

Advance Preparation

No advance preparation is required for any of the following courses. We simply recommend you print out the course manual to follow along with during the online course, and to use for future reference. In order to download, click "Course Manual" under Course Menu on the right side of your screen. When the document appears on your screen, go to File, then Print. The manual is yours! After printing, simply close the screen to return to your "Course Overview" page.

Instructional Method

Our self-study program materials will be delivered to you via Vern’s innovative online courses. We have created an online learning system for you that utilizes a “three-pane environment”: (1) streaming video in upper-left corner with (2) synchronized PowerPoint slides in upper-right corner, and (3) a web-browser pointing to the course manual and important websites in the bottom half of the screen. We believe that the versatility and usability of this “three-pane environment” offers a superior education platform, possibly even trumping the live education experience!

CPE Credit Hours

Credit Hours are based, in accordance with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy's (NASBA's) Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs, on a 50-minute hour. Upon successful completion of the exam (70% or higher), you will be presented with a printable Certificate of Completion detailing the Course Name and earned Credit Hours.

NASBA
	Vern Hoven Tax Seminars is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as a Quality Assurance Service (QAS) sponsor of continuing professional education. Participating state boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding QAS program sponsors may be addressed to NASBA, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org
	Vern Hoven Tax Seminars is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org

Accepted by All Boards of Accountancy

View the list of all Boards of Accountancy that will accept self-study CPE credits from NASBA’s QAS Sponsors
and National Registry of CPE Sponsors, or with which Vern Hoven Tax Seminars has directly registered.

Vern Hoven Tax Seminars is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as a Quality Assurance Service (QAS) sponsor of continuing professional education. Participating state boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding QAS program sponsors may be addressed to NASBA, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org

Vern Hoven Tax Seminars is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Web site: www.nasba.org