BarbriSFCourseDetails
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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    Live Online with Live Q&A

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Tax Preparer

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, May 20, 2025

  • 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
CPE
ALL

This webinar will discuss tax matters of automobile dealerships for sellers and tax advisers working with these companies. Our panel of federal income tax veterans will identify these issues and offer advice to maximize tax savings for these sellers.

Faculty

Lynn M. Mucenski-Keck
Principal
Withum Smith + Brown, PC

Ms. Mucenski-Keck has over twenty years of experience in the accounting industry specializing in federal domestic and international tax planning for businesses, pursuing optimization to maximize cash impact.  She has advocated for privately held businesses through her testimony to the House of Representatives Committee on Small Business.  Ms. Mucenski-Keck highlighted how federal income tax policies including research and experimental capitalization, interest expense modifications, and the decrease in bonus depreciation are limiting cash in privately owned businesses and prohibiting innovation and growth.   She also leads Withum’s clean energy credit initiatives that have been significantly altered since the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act in August of 2022, including providing up-to-date information on the ability to elect the direct pay or transfer of the federal income tax credits. Ms.Mucenski-Keck received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from St. John Fisher College and a Master’s in Taxation from the University of Denver. She is a CPA, licensed in New York and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She was appointed as a Forbes Tax Contributor in February of 2021. Previously, she was an Associate Accounting Professor at St. John Fisher College from 2010-2019.  

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Michael B. Mulhearn
Partner
Withum Smith + Brown, PC

Mr. Mulhearn is a partner based in our firm’s Philadelphia, PA office, with over 15 years of experience in public accounting. His expertise includes accounting and tax services, with a focus on the automotive industry and privately held businesses. Mr. Mulhearn's services include preparation of compiled and reviewed financial statements, partnership and corporate taxation as well as tax planning for his clients.

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Description

Automobile dealerships have unique tax issues. Most receive floor plan financing rates, allowing dealers to buy inventory now and pay for the vehicle when it is sold. The vehicles secure the loan. This short-term financing ensures the showroom is amply stocked with a wide selection of vehicles. Currently, Section 163(j) regulations limit the deductibility of interest for certain taxpayers. Although this limit does not apply to floor plan interest, if interest expense exceeds 30 percent of adjusted taxable income and the dealership is not otherwise exempt, the dealership cannot take bonus depreciation on any assets.

On Mar. 13, 2024, the IRS announced that sellers must register to receive Clean Vehicle Tax Credit payments. Purchasers can now receive a rebate when a vehicle is purchased rather than waiting months to receive a credit on their tax returns. Unfortunately, not all dealerships were aware of or signed up for the new system. The new online system must be used for advance credits as well as credits purchasers intend to claim on a tax return. Many purchasers planning to claim the tax return credit have had their claims denied because the dealership did not register under the new guidelines. Tax practitioners working with automobile dealerships must grasp the tax challenges these businesses endure.

Listen as our panel of auto dealership experts reviews these businesses' problematic tax situations.

Outline

  • I. Tax issues of auto dealerships: introduction
  • II. Depreciation
  • III. Inventory
  • IV. Floor plan financing
  • V. Credits
  • A. Electric vehicle credits
  • B. Other credits
  • VI. Excise tax
  • VII. Impact of tariffs
  • VIII. Other issues

Benefits

The panel will cover these and other critical issues:

  • Managing floor plan financing
  • Depreciation options for automobile dealerships
  • Registering to receive Clean Vehicle Tax Credits
  • Other tax credits available to auto dealerships
  • The 163(j) interest expense limitations relative to automobile sellers

NASBA Details

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify specific tax issues unique to sellers of vehicles
  • Determine depreciation methods available for vehicles used in the business
  • Decide how Section 163(j) impacts interest paid by dealerships
  • Ascertain what tax credits are available to auto dealerships to minimize tax liability

  • 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).