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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Tax Preparer

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, May 3, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    110 minutes

Credit Information

  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

  • BARBRI is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).

$197.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CPE
ALL

This webinar will review accounting and tax issues specific to law offices. Our panel of tax reporting professionals will discuss identifying and recording advanced client costs, Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA), income recognition, retirement contributions, and other specific tax requirements of legal professionals. They will offer advice to minimize overall taxes paid while adhering to numerous guidelines specific to these service providers.

Faculty

Jeff Laufman
Director
Armanino, LLP

Mr. Laufman is a manager in the Armanino Law Firm Services Group, where he is dedicated exclusively to working with law firms and attorneys. He works with his clients to maximize profits, minimize taxes, and increase operational efficiencies. Among the ways Mr. Laufman does this for his clients is through his deep industry knowledge and insights which allow him to advise on rates, compensation, proper staffing, and other key drivers of law firm profitability. He also has significant expertise with buy-out and retirement planning issues as they specifically pertain to law firms.

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Katina Peters
Miscellaneous

Ms. Peters is a business growth and profitability advisor with a passion for helping clients achieve their dreams. She works with service-based businesses, focusing her expertise on law firms and construction contractors. Ms. Peters utilizes her credentials, education and 20+ years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant in providing clients with insight to their business and acts as a partner in strategic planning and execution.

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Description

Law firms and attorneys are confronted with unique tax issues. Attorneys often pay litigation expenses up-front on behalf of a client. These could include various court fees, mediation fees, postage, costs of medical examinations, etc. Of course, they are paid with the intention of being reimbursed by the client. These payments, known as advanced client costs, are rarely deductible as incurred.

IOLTA accounts are unique to attorneys too. Counsel often require retainers or receive large settlement checks on behalf of clients. The Supreme Court and state laws require attorneys to deposit these receipts in interest bearing accounts that are remitted to the applicable state fund. States often use these monies to provide charitable legal services.

In addition to IOLTA accounts and advanced client costs, complying with the constructive receipt doctrine, reporting retirement contributions, and applying unique income allocations by partner can all be problematic. Tax practitioners working with legal firms and attorneys need to grasp the unique accounting and tax concerns of these service providers.

Listen as our panel of federal tax experts explains the unusual accounting and tax issues faced by law firms along with how to properly record and report these while limiting the practice's overall tax burden.

Outline

  1. Taxation of legal practices
  2. IOLTA accounts
  3. Advanced client costs
  4. Retirement plans
  5. Income recognition
  6. Multistate tax issues
  7. Attorney expenses
  8. Tax reporting issues
  9. Other considerations

Benefits

The panel will cover these and other key issues:

  • Recognizing and deducting advanced client costs
  • Complying with the constructive receipt doctrine for income recognition
  • Minimizing overall taxes paid by the firm and its partners
  • Reporting retirement plan contributions by partner
  • Administering IOLTA funds

NASBA Details

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify tax compliance issues unique to law firms
  • Determine how to properly administer IOLTA funds
  • Decide when income should be recognized
  • Ascertain when advanced client costs can be expensed

  • Field of Study: Taxes
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite: Three years+ business or public firm experience preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other preparers or accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of pass-through taxation, including taxation of partnerships, S corporations and their respective partners and shareholders.

Strafford Publications, Inc. 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 Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

IRS Approved Provider

Strafford is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).