Children of All Ages: Comprehensive Planning Techniques

Course Description

Archive : Children of All Ages: Comprehensive Planning Techniques Digital Download
Salepage : Children of All Ages: Comprehensive Planning Techniques
Delivery : Online With Any Device

In light of the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this course offers practitioners new planning techniques with regards to children. Many clients who are parents are unsure of how to navigate dependency exemptions due to foreseen and unforeseen changes in their lives. What are clients’ options when they marry a person who has children from a prior relationship? What happens should those parents then divorce? Can the stepparent still claim the children as dependents? And if not, what options are available to the stepparent instead?

This course provides practitioners with the latest and most up-to-date rules to assist clients in navigating the entities that affect child dependency, the factors that influence those entities, and planning techniques so each parent is prepared for tax season.

**Please Note:   If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program (2 hours only), please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to [email protected].

Basic Course Information

Major Subjects

• Learning tax rules as they pertain to claiming children as dependents in varying degrees of life circumstances i.e., birth children, adopted children, and stepchildren
• Learning the factors that affect dependency such as divorce and issues of custody
  • Dependency Exemption
  • Head of Household Status
  • Earned Income Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Child Dependent Care Credit
• Navigating options to which parents are entitled when they are unable to continue claiming children as dependents as a result of divorce
  • Form 8332
• Understanding the definition of a qualified child and learning the 5 tests of qualifications
  • Child’s relation to taxpayer
  • Age
  • Child’s location and length of residency with taxpayer
  • Child support
  • Joint return restriction

Learning Objectives

• List new tax guidelines and identify the related factors as they pertain to child dependency laws
• Discuss options parents have regarding claiming dependents
• Explain the most beneficial courses of action when filing

Shelli Huston, CPA, MS is an Oregon native. She attended Warner Pacific College where she received a Bachelors in Business with an Emphasis in Accounting. After obtaining her CPA’s license, she continued on to Golden Gate University where she received her Master’s Degree in Taxation.

Shelli worked in a small tax firm for many years. In 2006, she opened up her own tax and accounting firm. She has watched her business grow and expand to include teaching and writing. Shelli has over 20 years of experience in personal, business, estate, trust, and gift taxation, as well as QuickBooks and payroll. She enjoys working with clients of all types and small businesses, especially new businesses.

Shelli is passionate about the importance of being the best professionals we can be. This profession comes with an inherent integrity that takes work to uphold. Through her participation in education, she is excited to assist in upholding the professionalism of the accounting and tax profession.