Tax News By Christopher: Don’t Stop Learning: What the new Tax Bill Means for Tax Education

The dust is still settling from the passing of the new tax bill.

The IRS hasn’t updated the tax forms on its website…

AND the start of the tax season is looming.

We’ve been getting lots of questions about whether or not to bother taking tax courses right now. Here are some important things to consider, and some reasons why The Income Tax School has your back!

You still need to know prior tax law

If you’ve started learning tax preparation, or are considering it, don’t wait. Do it now! Tax Preparers still 2018-tax-law-education need to learn the basics of the law prior to the 2017 tax reform. Learning how to prepare taxes, applying tax law, and following the flow of tax returns are necessary skills needed to excel at tax preparation. Gaining an understanding now will allow you to prepare taxes for the current year, and will help you apply changes to the laws. It also ensures that you can competently amend returns and review prior year returns for correctness and audits. Several years from now you will still need to know the tax law for the 2017 tax year.

You will get updates from us as the details of the new bill become more concrete. So, if you’re just starting out, we can guarantee that our Comprehensive Tax Course is all that you need to become a successful tax preparer. This year, and beyond!

No one has the information

First and foremost, everything is up in the air right now. If you go to the IRS website, you’ll notice that there are no updated forms. If the IRS doesn’t have it up on their website, no one has it! There are a few entities out there that have been advertising that their materials are updated but as an IRS approved tax school, we can tell you that is just not the case.

We’ve been dealing with tax law changes for years

Here’s the thing. The tax law changes every year. This year the change is bigger than previous years but we have been dealing with tax law changes for almost 30 years now. Here’s how it works.

Congress passes new legislation.
The Income Tax School educators and tax pros dive in to study and familiarize themselves with the new information.
The IRS makes revisions and edits prior to the start of the tax season.
The IRS updates its website with new forms.
The Income Tax School updates course materials and issues a free tax law update course to all students.

This year, because the changes are so drastic, we will be offering three webinars to cover the updates to the law.

Taxpayers need you

The new tax bill is 500 pages of changes. Nothing about the new law is simplified – like it was originally reported to be. Now more than ever, taxpayers are going to need the guidance of a professional. Tax professionals should focus their energy in the early months of 2017 communicating that need to taxpayers and clients.

It’s crucial that taxpayers meet with a professional this year to prepare for changes so that they are in the best financial situation possible when the changes go into effect next year.

We’ve been reading through the new bill

Our team of E.A.s and tax educators have been reading through the new bill and are currently updating our course materials while we wait for the final revisions to be made. As of now, the tax forms have not been updated. That means there’s no practical application of the tax laws (because there are no forms).

Don’t give up hope tax pros and future tax pros! We will guide you through these changes and make sure you’re prepared. If you’re currently taking our tax courses, rest assured that you will have everything you need to prepare taxes and the support needed once the new law is finalized.