Craig W. Smalley, MST, EA, is the Founder and CEO of CWSEAPA, PLLC. He has been admitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service as an Enrolled Agent and has a Master’s Certificate in Taxation from UCLA. In practice since 1994, Craig is well-versed in U.S Tax Law and U.S. Tax Court cases, and specializes in individual, partnership, and corporate taxation for high-net-worth clients; entity structuring and restructuring; and representation before the IRS regarding negotiations, audits and appeals. Craig is currently a columnist for CPA Practice Advisor and AccountingWEB and has had 12 books published. His articles have been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Christian Science Monitor, and he has been interviewed and appeared as a featured guest on numerous radio shows and podcasts. Craig can be reached at craig@craigwsmalleyea.com.
July 27, 2018
In 28 States and the District of Columbia, cannabis is legal in one way or another. The problem is when you are dealing with the Federal Government. Cannabis is an illegal Schedule I Narcotic. That being said, when it comes to cannabis, legal ...
June 4, 2018
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of a recent District Court Case, let’s take a moment to discuss GRATs. First of all, with the new tax law the estate tax exemption is $11.2 million. If you are married, and elect portability, then the exemption is ...
June 4, 2018
I keep in touch with an ex-bookkeeper that I sort of mentored. She decided to take the Enrolled Agent Exam but ended up failing Part I and must take it again. When I asked her what she got wrong, she mentioned basis. Basis is a hard concept to ...
May 30, 2018
With the estate tax that has risen to $11.2 million, and if married and you elect portability the exemption doubles to $22.4 million. You might be asking yourself, why do you need to know about estate planning? Very simply, gift tax still exists, as well
May 28, 2018
The rules on how to determine a passive activity are pretty straight forward. In a nutshell, a taxpayer that spends less than 750 hours in an activity has passive income or loss. That works out to approximately 15 hours a week. In my aforementioned ...
May 7, 2018
`What can get lost to us professionals is Small Business Week. The Internal Revenue Service has produced You Tube Videos depicting Small Business Deductions. Not to be outdone the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) has released their own ...
May 7, 2018
The new tax law has opened so many tax planning opportunities, that it isn’t funny. We have created a situation where we can not only pay for and deduct our own health insurance, we can have Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRA), which we can put as much...
April 24, 2018
We have all had that discussion with our S-Corporation clients come tax time. They always say that they never took any distributions from their S-Corporation, so why do they have to pay tax? The simple answer is; you are taxed on profits and not ...
April 9, 2018
There is a major disconnect between tax accountants and trusts. Some people think that it is the best taxable situation for a client, and others think that all trusts protect assets, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The information that I am ...
April 3, 2018
Whether it’s budget cuts, or whatever, it doesn’t explain the TAS. When Nina Olsen gives her report to Congress every year, she should add that her organization is dropping the ball, and refusing to do what the office was designed to do.
April 3, 2018
I read an article about five years ago. The crux of article was that in retirement between 60%-70% of retiree’s expenses are health related. I never forgot that article. What the article didn’t mention was that to pay those medical expenses, seniors had to take money out of their retirement, which was taxable, for a...…
March 31, 2018
In the State of Florida, the Department of Business and Professional Responsibility (DBPR), licenses barbers, beauticians, and other professions. The fact of the matter, is that someone that handles sensitive information, like Social Security Numbers ...
