Mastering Gift Tax Reporting: Biggest Issues and How to Prevent Mistakes

Avoid costly gift tax errors, audits, and penalties. This course identifies the most frequently misreported transactions and provides clear guidance for compliance.

This course addresses key reporting challenges such as gift splitting, Crummey transfers, and GST allocation, along with common errors like misapplying annual exclusions or improperly allocating a deceased spouse's unused exclusion (DSUE). It also covers the reporting of discounted gifts, including valuation methods, IRS scrutiny of discounts, and best practices for compliance.

Learn how to prepare precise Form 709 filings that ensure compliance and protect your clients from unnecessary tax risks. Designed for tax professionals, this course is essential for anyone offering gift tax planning advice.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize frequent gift tax reporting errors, including issues with gift splitting, Crummey powers, and GST allocation.

• Apply the annual gift tax exclusion and properly allocate the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion (DSUE).

• Evaluate valuation challenges and reporting requirements for discounted gifts, along with potential IRS scrutiny.

• Implement best practices for completing Form 709 accurately to ensure compliance and reduce audit risk.

• Apply gift tax rules to complex transactions to achieve accurate reporting while maximizing client tax benefits.

  
  

Session Highlights:

• Identify the most common errors in gift tax reporting and strategies to prevent them.

• Apply rules for gift splitting, Crummey powers, and the annual exclusion correctly.

• Understand generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax allocation and its effect on reporting.

• Address reporting requirements for discounted gifts and anticipate potential IRS scrutiny.

• Properly allocate the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion (DSUE) on Form 709.

• Recognize frequent mistakes such as incorrect valuations, missed split-gift filings, and misreported trust transfers—and learn best practices to correct them.

• Analyze the correct application of the annual exclusion and DSUE to optimize compliance and tax planning.

  
  

Credits and Other information:

• Recommended IRS credit – 2.0
  
• Recommended field of study – Taxes
• Session Prerequisites and preparation: None
• Session learning level: Basic
• Location: Virtual/Online
• Delivery method: Group Internet Based
• IRS CE Provider: #PUPOT
• Attendance Requirement:  Yes
• Session Duration: 2 Hours
• Case Studies and Live Q&A session with speaker
  
• PowerPoint presentation for reference

Who Will Benefit:

• CPA's
• Enrolled Agents (EAs)
  
• Tax Professionals
• Tax and Estate Planning Attorneys
• Accountants
• Registered Agents
• Tax Compliance Managers
• Other Tax Professionals
• Finance professionals