tax-aide training for tax year 2015 ca-2 state meeting jay wiedwald, ca-2 trs sep 2015 regional...

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE

Sep 2015 Regional Meetings 1

Training for Tax Year 2015

CA-2 State Meeting

Jay Wiedwald, CA-2 TRS

TAX-AIDESep 2015 Regional Meetings 2

Teachable Qualities of a Counselor?(Responses from audience)

● Develop Listening Skills

● Ask probing questions

● Use Resources

● Learn and use trouble-shooting techniques

● Tax law knowledge

● Learn how to explain tax law in everyday English

● Knowing when to ask for help – and willingness to actually do so


Habits you’d like to Break!(Responses from audience)

● Starting a return “too soon” Complete interview before

touching the keyboard

● Trusting that CF or other reviewed Intake sheet sufficiently

● Ignoring Intake Sheet during QR

● Rushing under pressure of clients waiting

● Not checking Duck Book before asking for help

● Incomplete passing of return info to the QR Complete grey sections on

Intake Sheet

● Relying too much on pro forma

● Not using the Comment section at bottom of Main Info Sheet


THANKS!

● I’ll consider those as I prepare for the Instructor Workshop

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE

Filing Status

Married, Single, and More

Pub 4012 – Tab BPub 4491 – Part 2Pub 17 – Chapter 2

TAX-AIDE

[BACKGROUND]

● Objectives: Recognize factors that determine filing status

options See how filing status affects tax issues Focused TWO entry/outcome relationships Cultivate habit of using resources

● Broadly suitable for all experience levels Pace and Depth of presentation will depend

on audience experienceTWO Immersion Training – 2015 6

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE

Filing Status

Married, Single, and More

Pub 4012 – Tab BPub 4491 – Part 2Pub 17 – Chapter 2

TAX-AIDE

Filing Status

● Two criteria: Marital status on last day of tax year

Federal definition – “married” ● Legal marriage under laws of any state or

country● Does not include civil unions or registered

domestic partners

Type of dependents, if any

TWO Immersion Training – 2015 8

Pub 17 Ch 2

TAX-AIDE

Five Choices for Filing Status

● Single

● Married filing jointly (MFJ)

● Married filing separately (MFS)

● Head of household (HH)

● Qualified widow(er) (QW)


Pub 4012 Tab B

TAX-AIDE

Form 1040


TAX-AIDE

Filing Status Importance

● Many tax items affected by filing status Necessity to file a return (Page A-1) Standard deduction (Page F-1) Tax rate bracket Eligibility for certain credits (Page I-3

Step 3)


TAX-AIDE

MFS Disadvantages

● Highest tax rate/lower standard deduction

● Cannot claim most tax credits

● Cannot deduct student loan interest

● Capital loss limit $1,500 (not $3,000)

● … and a few more.


TAX-AIDE

Head of Household – Unmarried

● Provided home for qualified child Might not be a dependent

● Provided home for related dependent

● >50% cost of maintaining home for dependent parents living elsewhere

● Pub 4012 page B-1 Left Side


TAX-AIDE

Head of Household – Married“Considered Unmarried”

● Lived apart all of last 6 months of year

● Provided home for: Child, stepchild, or eligible foster child for

over six months

● No other relatives qualify

● Pub 4012 page B-1 Right Side


TAX-AIDE

Head of Household

● Key advantages Higher standard deduction than Single or

MFS Advantageous tax rate structure


TAX-AIDE

Qualifying Widow(er)

● Spouse died in one of two past years Has dependent child or stepchild in home

all year Grandchild not eligible

● Maintained home for child >50% of cost

● Can file QW for two years only


TAX-AIDE

Use the Decision Tree


Turn toPub 4012Page B-1

Don’t miss the footnotes

TAX-AIDE

TaxWise – Main Information Sheet


Enter name and SSN only if child

not also dependent

TAX-AIDE

Quality Review

● QR is more than just making sure the box is checked!

● Must conduct the same probing interview to make sure that it is the correct (and best) Filing Status

● HoH is the biggest source of errors


TAX-AIDE

Let’s Explore

TWO Immersion Lesson

on Filing Status

Fred SilvaTWO Immersion Training – 2015 20


● NOW…Fire up your laptops and log into:https://twonline.taxwise.com/training

Client ID: 1144583

User Name: USERxx

Password: USERxx (Unless you’ve already logged

in)

https://twonline.taxwise.com/training

https://twonline.taxwise.com/training

TAX-AIDE

Immersion Lesson Worksheet


TAX-AIDE

● NTTC Webinar August 7th. Link available on OneSupport (or below): https://

aarptaxaide.webex.com/aarptaxaide/ldr.php?RCID=0895e16d9eb616aa7c7b7ab078f22d4b

(Not compatible with Windows10)

● Starts at 16:42 mark, 17 minutes long

● Followed by “Donald Duck” demo (11 minutes) Great for new counselors, and even those with a little

experience

This Demo available online


https://aarptaxaide.webex.com/aarptaxaide/ldr.php?RCID=0895e16d9eb616aa7c7b7ab078f22d4b





Demo Questions ???

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE


Training for Tax Year 2015

CA-2 State Meeting

Jay Wiedwald, CA-2 TRS


Topics

●Training and Certification

●ACA

●Scope

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE


Training andCertification


AARP Training Materials

● NTTC Workbook for Tax Year 2015 15 practice returns – replaces Pub 4491-W Quizzes and exercises Printed – available through fulfillment

One copy being mailed to each Instructor Each district must determine how to obtain/distribute copies to trainees

● NTTC Training Slides – first release was October 15th


IRS & FTB Training Materials

● Have been ordered for all Counselors Instructors need them early to certify

before the December Workshop Some variation by district regarding:

1040 InstructionsPub. 17540 Instructions

Getting accustomed to electronic documents is wise, but paper still useful


Instructor Workshop

● Two days in December – Instructors DCs SMT members IRS (Patrick Brown) and FTB (Mark Callahan)

● Two “identical” workshops for flexibility and a manageable group size

● Train the trainers – help Instructors improve their knowledge and teaching skills


Training Principles

● Retention is enhanced when multiple parts of the brain are involved Integrate tax law with TW data entry Student “contemplates” issues

● Adults learn differently Not fully engaged unless they see a good reason May need to accommodate diminished senses

● Develop good habits Use of resources Follow a process


New/Expanded Training Tools

● NTTC Workbook Eight updated and seven new practice

returns Targeted ACA, Filing Status and

Exemption exercises Quizzes


New/Expanded Training Tools

● NTTC Lesson Plans Series I – Updated from last year Series II – New this year, targeted at returning

counselor training

● TWO Templates supporting these National and CA-2

● Schedules for new and returning counselors

● NTTC Power-Point Training Slides Select as appropriate to audience


OneSupport/Tax Training/TWO Immersion Training

“Read me first” in Series I package Schedule and direction files in Series II package

Look over a typical lesson See Lesson Notes (Series II)

Resources Read-aheads Templates

Check Them Out!

TAX-AIDENTTC – Oct 2015 36

Certification Requirements

● All Volunteers – IRS Standards of Conduct test Pub 4961 is only available in electronic format

● Local Coordinators and Counselors Intake/Interview and Quality Review training and test –

10 questions – New Link & Learn or Pub 5101 (on-line only)

● Counselors Advanced test

35 instead of 40 questions Increased emphasis on ACA

Completing four exercises from NTTC Workbook


Certification Testing

● Recommend (URGE!!!) Link & Learn rather than paper Excellent on-line training reinforces

classroom Easier for the Instructors However, Instructors don’t see test score –

only that the test was passedMagnifies need for Instructor to review

exercises to assess student


Optional Certification Tests

● Optional Certifications for Counselors HSA Military International Cancellation of mortgage debt (if extended)

Out-of-Scope for California

TAX-AIDE

Training and Certification

Questions…

NTTC – Oct 2015 39

Comments…

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE


AffordableCare Act


ACA

●ACA in scope for Tax-Aide except for: Shared Policy Allocation

Marketplace coverage for a person who is not on the return

Alternative Calculation for Year of MarriageMarketplace customer got married during

the tax year


ACA

● Several first year exemptions no longer apply

● Shared Responsibility Payment (SRP penalty) greatly increased: $325 per person, up from $95 last year

or if greater: 2% of income, up from 1%

● Taxpayers do not need to provide proof of insurance (unless due diligence raises questions)


Expanded ACA Section of Intake Form

Counselors are expected to record in detail… … and QR’s to confirm!


Great variability in CA-2 Sites

National VITA/TCEAverage


ACA

Questions…

Comments…

TAX-AIDE

TAX-AIDE


Scope


Scope creep is a concern

•Several requests for local/regional scope change • Training, certification, Volunteer Protection Act, etc. all become issues

•We’re trying to help the majority of those taxpayers who need us – not every taxpayer


Scope – Approved Change

● Only one requested change was approved by IRS:

1099-R Code L (with 1, 4 or B) now in scope Loan treated as distribution Early distribution subject to 10% penalty Cannot be rolled over


Scope – Requests Not Approved

● Request for Medicare Advantage Medical Savings Account distributions not approved this year

● Line 29 adjustment for self-employed health care costs not approved

● AARP may make any return with SE income and paid medical insurance OOS due to ACA impact


Other Changes

● Dependents can be issued an Identity Protection (IP) PIN

● Medicaid Waiver Income now mandatorily not taxable

● myRA - New savings account (like a Roth)

● Can claim up to $25,000 in expenses on a Sch C


Additional Boxes on 1099 Forms

● 1099-INTBox 10 Market discount (2014)Box 11 Bond premium (2014)Box 13 bond premium on tax-exempt bond (2015)

● 1099-OIDBox 5 Market discount (2014) Box 6 Acquisition premium (2014)

● 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-OID, and 1099-MISCFATCA filing requirement check box (2015)


Additional Boxes on 1099 Forms OOS

● 1099-INTBox 10 Market discount (2014)Box 11 Bond premium (2014)Box 13 bond premium on tax-exempt bond (2015)

● 1099-OIDBox 5 Market discount (2014) Box 6 Acquisition premium (2014)

● 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, 1099-OID, and 1099-MISCFATCA filing requirement check box (2015)


Tax-Aide – “We’re Special”

● Some topics not in scope for VITA are for Tax-Aide SEP/Simple IRA distributions 1099-K for self-employment income Land rental received as cash (no expenses) Non-cash donations up to $5,000

…and nine more!


Challenges due to Expanded Scope

● Topics aren’t covered in IRS Training Materials… but should be addressed during training

● Will suggest that these be taught as a unit Make their scope clear and provide

reference resources Focus on site leadership


Identity Theft and $1 AGI Returns

● Have recommended including $1 of income on federal return so it could be e-filed

Detects or prevents ID theft

● IRS counsel has a problem with this –

it’s an “inaccurate” return.


TY2015 Tax-Aide Practice

CONCLUSION:

We will continue Tax-Aide practice of preparing $1 AGI returns and include this in training materials


That’s All, Folks

Questions…

Comments…

tax-aide training for tax year 2015 ca-2 state meeting jay wiedwald, ca-2 trs sep 2015 regional...

Documents

married filing

tax issuesfocused

persons tax return

filing status optionssee

filing statussinglemarried

taxaide6filing statusmarried

training update training

marital status