Tax School Blog

Welcome to the U of I Tax School blog – where you’ll find current, relevant, and actionable information for your practice (and have some fun doing it).

The U of I Tax School blog is written by tax professionals for tax professionals.

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School’s Out But College Savings Is Still In Session

While school may be out for the summer, it\’s never too early to start thinking about college savings options. In this blog post, we\’ll explore a few options that can help taxpayers prepare financially for higher education.

Deducting Residual (Excess) Soil Fertility – Does the Concept Apply to Pasture/Rangeland?

In certain parts of the Midwest, above average soil fertility on farmland is also eligible for expense deductions. The concept is known as “residual soil fertility” and it can be available to farmland buyers that didn’t farm the acquired property within the immediately prior crop year.

Two More Key Provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act

In our blog on January 23, 2023, we covered two key provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act: automatic enrollment of employees and the delay of RMDs. This week, we will…

Shedding Light on ERC Audits

It should come as no surprise that the IRS has been looking into ERC claims as a result of the widespread misinformation revolving around qualifying for and claiming the credit. The IRS has issued Information Document Requests (Form 4564) to some taxpayers claiming the credit, and in some cases has also scheduled Payroll Tax Return (Form 941) audits.

Pros and Cons of Portability

The concept of portability of the basic exclusion allows the estate of the first spouse to die to transfer the unused exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. This provides an additional means of avoiding ill consequences from over-qualification of the marital deduction. While this may seem like a straightforward decision, tax practitioners should consider the pros and cons of making the election.

Ugly Donkeys Get Beautiful Results in Tax Court

The following is a reprint from the 2022 University of Illinois Federal Tax Workbook, Volume A, Chapter 3: Rulings and Cases. The video is a discussion of the case between…