Most CPAs encounter trusts long before they receive any formal training on how they work. A client mentions a revocable living trust during tax prep. An estate plan references an irrevocable trust that holds life insurance. A beneficiary receives a K-1 from a trust they barely understand, and the practitioner is expected to explain it. […]
Displaying: Tax Planning & Compliance
Trump Accounts Explained: What CPAs Need to Know About the New OBBBA Savings Vehicle
A brand-new savings vehicle for American children went live on July 4, 2026. Created under IRC Section 530A of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), Trump Accounts, created by OBBBA, represent the first new tax-advantaged account type in the Internal Revenue Code in years. Client questions are already flooding in. Here’s what […]
Income Tax Reporting for Estates and Trusts: A Practitioner’s Guide to Form 1041
A new fiduciary engagement lands on the desk. An executor or trustee, an entity earning income since the decedent’s death, and no Form 1041 on file. Determining whether one is required is the first task. Understanding how Form 1041 fiduciary income tax works is the second, because the rules differ from individual returns in ways that catch practitioners off […]
HSA in Retirement: Fitting the Account Into the Income Plan
Healthcare is the largest uninsured expense in retirement. Medicare covers significant costs but leaves substantial gaps: premiums, deductibles, copayments, dental, vision, hearing, and long-term care. A client who retires without a plan for funding those gaps is going to cover them from taxable retirement income, which makes the coordination question more consequential than it might […]
Estate Tax Returns After Death: A Practitioner’s Guide to Form 706
A client dies. The estate may or may not owe federal estate tax. Either way, there’s work to do, and in many cases, a return to file. Form 706, the United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, governs federal estate tax reporting for U.S. citizens and residents. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public […]