IS: Travel & Entertainment Expenses & Fringe Benefits

General Description:

The Individual Series of classes is designed for tax return preparers and new tax professionals. Participants will learn the underlying authority for, and possible complexity of, seemingly simple tax questions, and how that authority ties into tax software programs and preparation of the tax return for an individual. This course specifically addresses the tax treatment of travel and entertainment expenses and fringe benefits.

Learning Objective:

After completing this course the participant will be able to:

• Discuss the final regulations which provide guidance on the types of activities that are ­generally considered as entertainment as well as the treatment of business meals, travel meals, and entertainment meals with a business associate.
• Differentiate between accountable and nonaccountable plans.
• Describe the proper tax treatment for meal expenses; define business meals, travel meals, and entertainment meals.
• Determine the proper tax treatment for entertainment expenses, including:
• Whether expenses are for recreation, amusement, or entertainment;
• Whether expenses are directly related to or associated with the conduct of business;
• Country club dues, professional athlete, food critic, sky box lounge, Super Bowl tickets.
• Determine how to treat expenses of a significant other.
• Summarize the tax treatment of various fringe benefits, including: group term life insurance, employer-paid health insurance, parsonage allowance, meals and lodging, cafeteria plan, educational assistance, dependent care, qualified adoption, and additional fringe benefits such as qualified transportation fringes.
• Apply the high-low substantiation method and the annual Notice with per-diem rates.
• Determine how to treat commuting expenses, applying Rev. Rul. 99-7, Walker, Soliman, Bogue, Trzeciak, Saunders.

Instructors:

Mark A. Vogel is a retired professor and director of the University of Denver Graduate Tax Program, where for 38 years he taught courses in individual, fiduciary, tax accounting, partnership, and corporate taxation. He is the author of Divorce Taxation Guide (John Wiley & Sons) and Individual Taxation (Shepards/McGraw-Hill). He received a J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Denver College of Law and an undergraduate accounting degree from the University of Notre Dame. He is also a CPA licensed in Illinois.

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