Tax News Update | May 2024

• 2024 BTB Brochure Mailing
• BTB Launches New Website
• IRS Releases Digital Draft Form
• RMD Relief Extended Through 2024
• Procedural Change to Obtain IRS Transcripts
• May Applicable Federal Rates
• 2024 Back to Basics Update
• 2024 Seminar / Webinar Dates and Locations 
• 2023 On-Demand Webinars Available
• 2024 Desk Reference Guide
• State Tax Updates
• The Tax Book – Promo Code 544
• CFS Tax Tools – Coupon Code BTB57143
• $50 Referral Bonus 

“The best measure of a man’s honesty isn’t his income tax return. It’s the zero adjust on his bathroom scale.”

~  Arthur C. Clarke

Instructors 

James Hockenberry, EA – Jim is the President of Back to Basics Income Tax Seminars and has over 31 years of experience in income tax and financial planning. He is an Enrolled Agent and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He has worked as a tax researcher / technical writer and has served as an instructor for several tax and financial organizations. 

Steve O’Rourke, EA – Steve is an Enrolled Agent with a successful tax practice in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. His firm, which was established in 1989, prepares over 2,500 individual and business tax returns. Steve has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. He has over 40 years of experience as a tax professional and is a nationally known speaker, having taught tax seminars for the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the National Association of Tax Professionals, and several other professional organizations nationwide.

2024 BTB Brochure Mailing

The 2024 BTB brochure was mailed out in mid-April.  If you did not receive a copy of the brochure – you can always go to the BTB website or click here for a copy. As for the brochure mailing, it seems that the PTIN list may have had an error as some tax professionals received more than one brochure and/or a brochure with an incorrect name. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you received an extra brochure in the mail – please share it with a colleague so they may register for our continuing education events.

BTB Launches New Website

Back to Basics Income Tax Seminars has launched a new website where you can now create and manage your own account. Registration is now open but before you register for an event, you must create your account with a unique username and password. Instructions can be found here. 

Once your account is created you can then login and register for each event. Click the buttons below to get started.

IRS Releases Digital Draft Form

On April 19, the IRS released an early draft of the information return for reporting digital asset transactions that will be furnished by brokers, reflecting proposed regs issued last year.

The new 2025 Form 1099-DA is generally expected to be included on federal income tax returns by taxpayers who answer “yes” to the digital asset question that asks if they, at any time during the relevant tax year, received, sold, exchanged, or disposed of a digital asset or financial interest in a digital asset. Common examples of digital assets to be reported include cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens.

Form 1099-DA asks for various information about the type and amounts of digital assets transacted, as well as the addresses and Taxpayer Identification Number of parties involved. Taxpayers are expected to report when they acquired the asset, when it was sold or disposed, and cost basis. The form also includes a question on the “amount of nondeductible loss in a wash sale transaction involving digital assets that are also stock or securities for tax purposes.”

RMD Relief Extended Through 2024

The IRS released Notice 2024-35 that once again provides transition relief from required minimum distributions (RMDs) and changed the applicability date of final RMD regulations. The notice states that the final regs that the IRS intends to issue regarding RMDs and related provisions will apply for determining RMDs for calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

In addition, the notice provides that:

• A defined contribution plan that failed to make a specified RMD will not be treated as having failed to satisfy §401(a)(9) solely because it did not make that distribution, and

• Taxpayers who did not take a specified RMD will not be subject to the excise tax under §4974.

According to the guidance, a specified RMD is any distribution that would be required to be made in 2024 for the year in which the employee (or designated beneficiary) died if that payment would be required to be made to:

• An employee’s designated beneficiary because the employee or IRA owner (account owner) died in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 on or after the account owner’s required beginning date, and the beneficiary is not using the lifetime or life expectancy payments exception, or

• A beneficiary of an eligible designated beneficiary who died in 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023, and that eligible designated beneficiary was using the lifetime or life expectancy payments exception.

Procedural Change to Obtain IRS Transcripts

Beginning April 8, 2024, tax professionals must call the Practitioner Priority Service (PPS) to request transcripts to be deposited into their Secure Object Repository (SOR). While PPS has been the primary avenue for these requests, other IRS toll-free lines will no longer offer the SOR as a delivery method.

Additionally, tax professionals need to pass the current required authentication and verify their Short Identification (ID). The Short ID is a unique 8-10 alphanumeric code that is systemically assigned when an IRS account is established. This Short ID is visible when the tax professional logs in to their e-Services SOR. If the identity can’t be verified, transcripts will only be mailed to the address of record. PPS assistors cannot resolve issues with ID.Me identity proofing or the status of an ID.Me account.

May Applicable Federal Rates

Rev Rul 2024-09

2024 Back to Basics Update

Website – New and improved website for better access to the newsletter and an improved registration system. 

Registration – In an effort to improve registration and CPE / CE reporting we need to have each participant register with his/ her own separate email address. The system is now designed to allow only one distinct email address per person. Your registration is your ticket to the seminar or webinar.

Note: Because of the strict continuing education requirements – each person will have to register separately even if you are part of an office group.

E-book Option – As always, all participants will receive a printed textbook for each session. However, if you prefer to go paperless, you can save $10 per session by selecting e-book only.

Webinars – Over 45% of our registrations are from Webinars – which tells us that more people prefer the convenience of on-line education. We have added additional dates and times for our on-line webinars this year – including an option that is more convenient for those in the Mountain time zone.

Seminar Locations – Due to the success of the webinars, the average classroom size for the in-person seminars has decreased. Unfortunately, this makes it necessary to consolidate a few of our seminar locations. For those who attended our prior seminars in Superior, Janesville, and Racine you will have to select one of our other remaining locations – or join us on-line.

Referral Program – We understand that referrals have always been the best way to grow a business. As a thank you, we will mail you a $50 referral fee for each new attendee who registers for a Back-to-Basics seminar.

2024 Seminar / Webinar Dates and Locations 

Registration is now available.

WISCONSIN BUSINESS   PART I PART II

Eau Claire – Holiday Inn Mon. – Sept. 23 / Tue. – Sept. 24 / Wed. – Dec. 4
4751 Owen Ayres Ct. – 54701

Rothschild – Holiday Inn Thur. – Sept. 26 / Fri. – Sept. 27 / Thur. – Dec. 5
1000 Imperial Ave. – 54474

Onalaska – Stoney Creek Hotel – Mon. – Dec 2 / Tue. – Dec. 3
3060 S. Kinney Coulee Rd. – 54650

Sun Prairie – Hilton Garden Inn Mon. – Oct. 21 / Tue. – Oct. 22 / Mon. – Dec. 16
1220 S. Grand Ave. – 53590

Green Bay – Radisson Hotel Mon. – Oct. 28 / Tue. – Oct. 29 / Thur. – Dec. 19
2040 Airport Drive – 54313

Oshkosh – Hilton Garden Inn Thur. – Sept. 19 / Fri. – Sept. 20 / Tue. – Dec. 10
1355 W. 20th Ave. – 54902

Milwaukee – Crowne Plaza* Tue. – Sept. 17 / Wed. – Sept. 18 / Mon. – Dec. 9
6401 South 13th Street – 53221

Brookfield Conference Center* Wed. – Oct. 23 / Tue. – Dec. 17 / Wed. – Dec. 18
325 S. Moorland Road – 53005                                                  

ARIZONA BUSINESS PART I PART II

Flagstaff – Double Tree by Hilton —————- Mon. – Nov. 4 / Tues. – Nov. 5
1175 W. Route 66 – 86001 

Mesa – Holiday Inn* Fri. – Nov. 8 / Thur. – Nov. 14 / Fri. – Nov. 15
1600 S. Country Club Dr. – 85210

Tucson – Double Tree by Hilton —————– Mon. – Nov. 11 Tue. – Nov. 12

445 S. Alvernon Way – 85711

Phoenix – Double Tree by Hilton Wed. – Nov. 6 / Thur. – Nov. 7 / Wed. – Nov. 13
10220 N. Metro Parkway East – 85051

* New Location

WEBINARS BUSINESS PART I                       PART II

Central Time Fri. – Oct. 25 / Tues. – Nov. 19 / Thur. – Dec. 12
Central Time Thur. – Oct. 31 / Wed. – Dec. 11 / Fri. – Dec. 20
Mountain Time Thur. – Nov. 21 / Fri.. – Dec. 6 / Fri. – Dec. 13

Note: All webinars begin at 8:25 am and end at 4:35 pm in the time zone indicated above.  

2023 On-Demand Webinars Available

All three of our 2023 8-hour webinars are available on demand at a reduced price but without CE/CPE credits. They are perfect for new hire training and review. Click here to check out the content, agendas, and pricing.

2024 Desk Reference Guide

Now that the final numbers for 2024 have been released by the IRS, we have updated the Desk Reference Guide for the new year. Click here for your copy of the 2024 Desk Reference Guide.  

State Tax Updates

In mid-January we sent a link for the state tax updates. As a reminder, all Part II participants have the ability to view the Wisconsin and Arizona state updates for FREE. The state tax update programs will not qualify for continuing education credits. The link for the state updates included a recorded video, the written text, and PowerPoint slides.

If you did not attend the Part II session, you may purchase the state programs for $30 on our website.  

Area Stakeholder Liaison Teams

Speaking Engagements 

If your professional group is looking for outside speakers for an upcoming event – we can help. For additional information, please email jhockenberry@dbcllc.com.

The Tax Book – Promo Code: 544

Use Promo Code 544 for additional discounts and take advantage of The Tax Book’s award-winning tax research solutions. 

Order at: www.thetaxbook.com/order
Promo Code: 544

CFS Tax Tools – Coupon Code: BTB57143

CFS Tax Software, Inc.

Tax Tools is a collection of over 300 worksheets, calculators, flowcharts, and forms that tackle a variety of tough tax topics (many of which aren’t included in your 1040 software), including:

• Individual Tax Planner 
• ACA modules 
• Penalty and Interest Calculator 
• Social Security Optimization 
• Updated for latest tax law changes

You can order online at www.taxtools.com, or call 1-800-343-1157. Either way, be sure to use Coupon Code BTB57143 for additional savings.

$50 Referral Bonus

Refer a new attendee to a Back to Basics Income Tax Full Day Seminar and receive a $50 referral fee. Upon receipt of the new attendee registration(s), BTB Income Tax Seminars will mail you a check of $50 for each new attendee. Click Here to get a copy of the referral coupon.

(NOTE: Not valid with any other special offers or discounts)

Back to Basics Income 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 submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org. Sponsor ID # 108520