Tax Practice Pro, Inc.

10/20/2026

Three free credits tonight, and Frank Agostino is doing the teaching. This is part of Frank's broader, 2-year curriculum to prepare non-attorneys for the 2027 USTCP exame.

At 6:00 PM Eastern, Frank joins Tax Practice Pro for **The IRS Independent Office of Appeals**. If you handle IRS audits, disputes, or taxpayer representation, this is an evening worth setting aside.

Frank has spent more than 40 years in tax controversy, including work on *Chai v. Commissioner* and the Supreme Court's 2025 *Commissioner v. Zuch* decision. He knows what these disputes look like in the real world.

The program is **FREE**. Attend online or in person at Bergen Community College's Ciarco Learning Center in Hackensack, NJ. JOIN US LIVE FOR NETWORKING AND FREE PIZZA BEGINNING AT 5:30.

Three hours of IRS CE, NASBA CPE, and NY/NJ CLE credit are offered, as applicable.

Register here:

This webinar is available for Virtual (Online) or LIVE In-Person attendance. The LIVE class will be held at: Bergen Community College in the Ciarco Learning Center 355 Mian Street, Room 102/103 Hackensack, NJ ‍ Tax Professionals that attend are encouraged to accept a pro bono tax controversy case ...

10/12/2026

Well, stuff's getting real. The lanyards are here! 😁

Two weeks from today, we'll be welcoming tax professionals to New York City for Tax Practice Pro's 13th Annual International Tax Conference!

The lanyards just arrived, and we're getting everything ready for October 26, 27, and 28.

We've put together three days of international tax education with some terrific speakers, including Rita Ryan, Andrea Valois, Frank Agostino, and Marina Hernandez.

We'll cover everything from the fundamentals of international tax compliance to foreign reporting requirements, cross-border transactions, tax treaties, and those international tax penalties that can turn a relatively simple mistake into a very expensive problem.

And one of the best parts of an in-person conference is getting to spend time with other tax professionals, exchanging ideas, asking questions, and learning from each other.

Haven't registered yet? Why not?

You can join us for the Monday bootcamp, any two days, or all three days. We'd love to see you there!

📍 New York City
📅 October 26–28, 2026

Registration details and the link are in the first comment below.

10/07/2026

𝗜’𝗠 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗢𝗫𝗜!

On November 6 and 7, I’ll be presenting at the Southern Regional Tax Conference at the IP Casino Resort & Spa in Biloxi, Mississippi.

I’m teaching 15 hours over the two days, and we’re covering a pretty wide range of issues that tax professionals are going to be dealing with this filing season.

𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘’𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜’𝗠 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚:

▶ 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗙𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 — 𝟰 𝗖𝗘

Four hours on what changed, what matters, and what we actually need to do differently as we head into another filing season.

▶ 𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗣 / 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 — 𝟮 𝗖𝗘

We’re going to get practical. What actually belongs in a WISP? What should a tax office be doing? I’m putting together handouts and checklists you can actually take back and use in your office.

▶ 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 — 𝟮 𝗖𝗘

Circular 230, IRC §§6694 and 6695, Form 8867, the knowledge requirement, record retention, and how to build office procedures that help keep us out of trouble.

▶ 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲: 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 (§𝟭𝟮𝟭) — 𝟮 𝗖𝗘

Residence versus domicile, the §121 exclusion, the 2-out-of-5-year test and exceptions, rental conversions, and foreclosure issues.

▶ 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗖𝗣𝗔 𝗼𝗿 𝗘𝗔 𝗬𝗲𝘁? 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆 — 𝟭 𝗖𝗘

How an unenrolled preparer can use Form 8821 to obtain IRS information and help a client without crossing the line into representation.

▶ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲: 𝗦 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — 𝟮 𝗖𝗘

How do you actually determine reasonable compensation for an S corporation shareholder-employee? And once you pick the number, can you defend it?

▶ 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗘 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 — 𝟮 𝗖𝗘

True rentals, mixed-use property, house hacking, vacation rentals, and figuring out where these activities actually belong on the return.

That’s 15 hours with me alone, plus additional education available at the conference.

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗜𝗦 $𝟰𝟰𝟵.

If you’re anywhere in the Southeast, I have to ask:

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗪𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗𝗡’𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘?

Two days of live tax education, a room full of other tax professionals, plenty of opportunity to ask questions and argue about weird fact patterns, and we’re doing it at the IP Casino in Biloxi.

There are worse places to earn your CE.

Registration link in the comments.

Hope to see some familiar faces there and meet quite a few new ones.

09/26/2026

This is an interesting development for anybody using AI in their business.

But if you are a tax or accounting professional practicing in New York City, I think there is one word in this proposal you REALLY need to pay attention to:

DEPLOY.

Not develop AI.

Not build AI.

Not sell AI.

DEPLOY AI.

On September 25, New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced a package of proposed AI legislation. One of the proposals — currently listed in the Council system as T2026-2602 — would make it unlawful to market, sell OR DEPLOY an AI model in New York City unless the model has first received third-party validation and has a human-operated shutdown capability.

And that is where this gets very interesting for tax professionals.

The third-party validator would be required to assess things including:

• Accuracy and task performance
• Data provenance
• Bias and disparate impact
• Data privacy and security
• Whether data is handled lawfully
• Safety and security risks
• Whether the human shutdown capability actually works

The validator then certifies whether the model has been validated and is appropriately positioned for deployment.

BUT HERE IS THE PART I THINK TAX PROS NEED TO NOTICE:

The prohibition isn't limited to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta or the other companies BUILDING these systems.

The proposed language says a person cannot DEPLOY an AI model in New York City unless those requirements have been satisfied.

So think about what we are already doing in tax and accounting offices:

AI client intake.

AI chatbots.

AI document review.

AI tax research.

AI analysis of notices.

AI-assisted return preparation.

AI tools connected to workflow or practice-management systems.

If using one of those tools constitutes "deployment" under the final law and regulations, this isn't simply a compliance issue for the company that created the AI.

It becomes a compliance question for THE FIRM USING IT.

And the proposed penalty is not insignificant: $25,000 PER INSTANCE of unlawful deployment. The bill separately provides a $25,000-per-instance penalty for falsification of a validation.

There are several other proposals in the package as well:

• T2026-2605 — creates a civilian complaint/enforcement mechanism, with qualifying complainants potentially receiving part of amounts recovered.

• T2026-2600 — creates a private cause of action for certain foreseeable harms caused when third parties misuse or circumvent safeguards in AI systems.

• T2026-2601 — requires reporting of certain AI safety incidents involving New York City contracts within 24 hours.

• T2026-2603 — requires disclosures in advertising of AI models and prohibits materially false or misleading claims concerning AI safety.

• T2026-2599 — establishes privacy, security and transparency requirements for chatbot providers.

None of this is law yet.

And there are some BIG questions about exactly how broadly terms such as "deploy" will ultimately be interpreted and how the requirements would work for a small accounting firm using a commercially available AI product.

But I wouldn't dismiss this as legislation aimed only at the tech giants.

The Council has scheduled a Committee of the Whole hearing for October 5, with all 51 Council members participating. Speaker Menin has also requested appearances by executives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta and xAI and has said the Council reserves the right to use subpoena power.

For those of us teaching tax professionals how to use AI responsibly, this is absolutely one to watch.

Again, the word is:

DEPLOY.

09/24/2026

We’ve been getting more and more questions about **Deferred Sales Trusts**.

And frankly, they’re a little tricky.

So I reached out to our friend **Art Werner, JD, MS (Taxation)** and asked if he had a class on them.

Art’s answer was basically:

**“No — but I’m interested in that too. Let me put one together.”**

And he did.

On **Monday, September 28 at 3:00 PM ET**, Art joins us for:

**Deferred Sales Trusts: Tax Deferral Strategies for the Sale of Appreciated Assets**

If you have clients selling highly appreciated real estate, businesses, or other assets, you’ve probably heard Deferred Sales Trusts being discussed as a way to defer capital gain.

But how do they actually work?

What is the authority for the tax treatment?

How does IRC §453 fit into the transaction?

Who owns what, and when?

And perhaps most importantly — **where are the risks, IRS concerns, and potential red flags?**

That’s what Art is going to walk through.

✅ How a Deferred Sales Trust is structured
✅ IRC §453 and installment sale treatment
✅ Timing of gain recognition
✅ Potential benefits and limitations
✅ Tax risks and IRS considerations
✅ Comparison with other tax-deferral strategies
✅ Practical planning considerations

**2 IRS CE / 2 CTEC / 2 NASBA CPE**

💻 Live online
📅 Monday, September 28
⏰ 3:00 PM Eastern
💲 $89 — included with Tax Practice Pro Unlimited Membership

If Deferred Sales Trusts have started showing up in conversations with your clients, this is a good opportunity to understand the strategy **before you have to advise someone about one.**

Register here:

Deferred Sales Trusts have gained increasing attention as a planning strategy for taxpayers looking to defer capital gains tax on the sale of highly appreciated assets. This course provides a practical overview of how these arrangements are structured, the tax rules that support them, and the circum...

09/10/2026

If your tax planning conversations still happen in silos — entity here, retirement there, real estate somewhere else — today's session is worth an hour.

Dr. Brad Messner, EA, PhD (Pitt business faculty, AI and automation researcher) is teaching how to build one connected tax plan across entity structure, retirement, real estate, benefits, and digital assets — and where data and AI tools genuinely help versus where they're hype.

2 CE/CPE hours (IRS, NASBA, CTEC, Texas). $89, free with membership.

1:00 PM ET today.

The best tax planners don't work topic by topic, they pull everything together into a unified, proactive client strategy. We will focus on how to connect the dots across entity planning, retirement, real estate, benefits, digital assets, and the new OBBBA opportunities, using modern data tools and A...

09/08/2026

Today at 3pm ET: cybersecurity for tax pros, taught by someone who researches this for a living.

Dr. Brad Messner, EA, PhD is faculty at the University of Pittsburgh's business school, a Forbes contributor on preparer phishing scams, and NATP's 2023 Tax Professional of the Year. He's teaching "Introduction to Cybersecurity for Tax Professionals" — what actually puts client data at risk in a virtual practice and what to do about it.

CE and CPE credit apply (IRS, NASBA, CTEC, Texas). $89 to join, free with membership.

3:00 PM ET today (Tuesday)

"Our best deal is always to become a monthly subscriber"

09/04/2026

Join me live for an 8-hour federal tax update in New York City on November 12.

Likely there will be a group dinner on the night before and we'll all hit a rooftop bar I like immediately after the program itself.

One day, live and in person in New York City. John Sheeley, EA, LTC covers the federal tax changes practitioners need for the 2027 filing season. 8 IRS CE, CTEC, NASBA & Texas CPE. Register by Sept. 30 for member pricing.

08/22/2026

I met Tom Wahl, CPA, at the IRS Tax Forum last week. He showed me Avalon Tax, an AI-assisted tax-preparation tool he built as an actual tax professional trying to solve the same problems the rest of us have.

I liked what I saw, so I invited Tom to demonstrate it for a group of Tax Practice Pro members. They asked good—and occasionally difficult—questions about how it works with Drake, ProConnect, Lacerte, and CCH Axcess; what happens to client data; pricing; speed; hosted environments; workpapers; K-1 footnotes; and the tool’s current limitations.

We recorded the entire program, and I am making the replay available free to everyone:

https://youtu.be/OSpDDnuGuNY?si=vQK3AwdeKyF__Xjp

For complete transparency: Neither I nor Tax Practice Pro received any compensation for doing this program. There is no affiliate arrangement, referral fee, or commission if you try or purchase Avalon Tax.

We simply like sharing tools that we use—or that we believe may actually do the job tax professionals need done. I am going to test Avalon Tax myself. As always, you should do the same before trusting any AI tool with your clients or your tax returns.

My suggestion is simple: Buy one return and run one of your more complicated completed returns through it. See what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and how much time it actually saves you.

The demonstration was recorded August 21, 2026. That date matters because AI products, features, pricing, and integrations change quickly.

Can AI really prepare a tax return—or is it just another promise th...

08/09/2026

Normally this one's for subscribers only, but I'm opening it up for free this Wednesday.

Late Foreign Gift Reporting: Triage, Strategy, and Risk — live with Rita Ryan, Esq., LLM, Wednesday 8/12 at 1:00 PM ET. 2 CE credits.

If a client ever shows up having never reported a foreign gift, this is the one that tells you what to actually do about it — how to size up the exposure, what options you realistically have, and how reasonable cause can mitigate the penalty.

It's free, but you still need to register: https://www.bigmarker.com/tax-practice-pro-inc1/late-foreign-gift-reporting-triage-strategy-and-risk

Rita's also one of our featured speakers at the International Tax Conference this October in NYC. And if you want to go even deeper on this exact topic, Frank Agostino, Esq. is running a session there on penalty defense and correcting late foreign gift reporting. If international work is any part of your practice, keep an eye on that one too.

"Our best deal is always to become a monthly subscriber" https://taxpracticepro.com/become-a-subscriber *Self-Study recording not available for NASBA CPE credit.