Tax Strategies for the High-Income Individual (as part of ENGAGE 2020)

How is your practice preparing for tomorrow? Adding the latest technology isn’t enough anymore. The tax profession is evolving in many aspects and at a rapid pace. Join us for an interactive discussion on changes being driven by tax law changes, staff, clients, competitors and technology. Learn how your practice will be impacted and the AICPA resources available to help your business evolve.

Learning Objectives:
· Understand the challenges involved with a changing tax landscape.
· Identify tax planning opportunities for a more productive and efficient practice.

Join this exciting special Town Hall with AICPA Leadership to hear about the latest issues affecting the profession and how we're working to help guide the way forward. We'll cover things like:

- the Firms role in business relief and restarting of the economy 

- How firms are operating in new normal environment, and;

- Online platforms and new firm strategies to drive success.

Learning Objectives:
· Identify your role in business relief and restarting of the economy
· Identify how to operate in the new normal
· Recognize the AICPA resources and tools

Join members of the AICPA's Individual and Self Employed Tax Technical Resource Panel (ISET TRP) for a debrief of key issues to be aware of for this filing season, along with a review of current legislative developments- including new COVID-19 rules and how the AICPA is working to advocate for our members. The panel will also cover new cases and revenue rulings, as well as report on significant code section cases that may affect your practice. Attendees are encouraged to bring their questions to the session as well as get feedback and tips on how to complete the 2020 filing season and start planning for a better 2021 filing season.

Learning Objectives:
· Identify legislative and regulatory tax developments in individual & self-employed tax area.
· Identify emerging individual & self-employed tax policy and advocacy issues important to AICPA members.

This session will address the importance of grantor trusts in the tax and estate planning process. It will cover the most important rules to be followed, and will then describe the variety of planning tools that are available when grantor trusts are utilized. The session will explore alternatives to grantor trusts if political uncertainty raises questions about their continued viability.

Join this session sponsored by the AICPA’s Women Initiatives Executive Committee and National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, to hear panelists not only present the challenges that women face, but also expand upon how those challenges present for women of color, and how allyship and sponsorship are critical to advancement.

Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion Vice-Chair and Past AICPA Chairman, will walk participants through the components of her June 9th Journal of Accountancy article entitled, “Together, we can make a difference: A 12-step plan to address racism and unconscious bias,” and provide additional context around how best to incorporate the steps.

As a part 2 to Kimberly Ellison-Taylor’s Inclusion is Good for Business-A 12-Step plan session, members of the AICPA’s National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion will share their successes and lessons learned around their implementation of Kimberly Ellison-Taylor’s suggested 12-step plan to address racism and unconscious bias in their respective workplaces.

The population is aging. More than 130 million Americans are living with chronic illness. As but one example 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. CPAs as the "trusted adviser" are in a unique and critical position of being able to help clients facing the challenges of aging and/or illness. How has this changed during COVID? What lessons have we learned from COVID to help clients plan better? What roles can the CPA serve? What estate and other planning changes should be made? How will longevity impact financial and estate planning? What tools can practitioners use to assist in this type of planning? What is different in the legal documentation practitioners should advise these clients to get from their attorneys?

This program will explain what the aging population, and in particular the increase in chronic disease and other health issues that accompany aging, means to planning for clients. This is not only about being certain that the client has the appropriate legal documents, but about creating checks and balances, financial safeguards, and much more.

In this session, the AICPA member-facing Diversity & Inclusion Team will highlight some of their activities and resources to support firms, professionals, students and educators.

The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating change in the profession. Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, and other AICPA senior leaders will discuss how the profession is addressing disruption and reimagining its services to remain trusted advisers in a complex, rapidly changing world. Topics will include the innovation of core services, new and emerging technologies and the evolution of CPA licensure.

The massive $2,200,000,000,000 CARES Act included a wide array of tax-relief. We scrambled to understand and implement these changes to capture immediate relief for our clients. However, there are many nuances which the Service and the SBA have only recently addressed and others we should to circle back to. Specifically, this course will cover the following:  

•    Required minimum distributions in 2020  

•    Coronavirus-related retirement plan distributions & loans  

•    Section 461(l) repeal  

•    NOL modifications  

•    Payment Protection Program last-minute ideas

The high transfer tax exclusions would seem to make sophisticated estate planning unnecessary for many clients whose estates will not exceed the taxation thresholds. But there are many other considerations that should go into an estate plan including portability, income tax considerations and asset protection concerns that make "simple" planning a risk for many clients. The SECURE Act of 2019 and the CARES Act of 2020 have added new complications and opportunities to the planning process. Life insurance, retirement plans, existing estate plans, gifting and many other issues may need to be considered differently when advising clients in this new world of estate planning. The combination of the sunset of the 2017 Act after 2025 and possible “political risk” before then makes advising clients in 2020 of critical importance.

COVID-19 tax changes made significant changes to TCJA changes including for NOLs, business loss limitations and depreciation. This program reviews the details of these changes with a focus on how they change prior tax planning approaches.

The Novel Coronavirus has dramatically changed the landscape of business travel. More and more employees are working from home, often in states that differ from the location of their old office. This program will discuss the unintended state tax obligations created by traveling and telecommuting employees.