Pub. 2 2020 Issue 1

J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 14 nebraska cpas CPA INSIDER: 2020 TAX SEASON STAFF MEETING AGENDA BY VERN HOVEN, CPA, MT A staff meeting to start another tax season is a smart idea, whether your staff simply includes your spouse and an admin, or rather partners, preparers, reviewers, and bookkeepers. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) included more than 100 changes to our individual and business returns, including the important qualified business income (QBI) deduction. Communicating updated information to all staff who deal with returns is crucial. One year, I discovered that my most valuable team member didn’t know what I assumedwas a simple “everyone-knows-that” change. Errors resulted from my assumptions, and I quickly understood the necessity of starting the season in near-perfect alignment with my staff. A Dozen-Plus Talking Points 1. Review the new and improved 2019 Form1040 and its attached schedules 1 through 3. The IRS worked on making the 2019 Form 1040 better than its 2018 Form 1040 postcard (just about anything would have been better). Discuss office policy on using the new Form 2019 1040-SR (a short form for seniors). 2. Discuss how the review of the final return will change because of changes to 2019 Form 1040. 3. Make sure your staff knows that a question on virtual currency transactions has been added by the IRS to the top of Form 1040, Schedule 1. And, don’t forget about the foreign asset question on the bottom of the Schedule B. 4. Review the new QBI deduction on Form 8995 and Form 8995A (and its four schedules). Take the time to review the IRS FAQs on the QBI deduction. 5. Review the “What’s New for 2019” section of instructions for 2019 Forms 1120S, and 1065, especially noting where the QBI information is reported on the 2019 Form K-1. 6. Review the “What’s New for 2019” section of the tax software manual and discuss problem input forms from the prior year, especially noting how the 2019 QBI information is input to the software. 7. Review required elections and locate the software input sheet for each. Important elections include, but are not limited to: (1) grouping election for real estate professionals