2002 Income Tax Conference - Ten Virginia Locations

Farm Business Management Update, October-November 2002

By L. Leon Geyer

The Virginia Tech Income Tax Conferences are scheduled at ten Virginia locations this year. The conferences will occur in November and December 2002. They feature an intensive study of tax law and regulations governing individual, farm, and small business taxes. They are designed for people with income tax experience who assist taxpayers in preparing and filing income tax returns. Preparation of both federal and state taxes will be covered. The table that follows gives the schedule for general sessions and special sessions on farm and forestry taxation.

This year is the forty-second year that Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech's Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, the Virginia Department of Taxation, and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have cooperated in bringing the program to the people who assist taxpayers in preparing and filing federal and state income tax returns. This conference is Virginia's largest workshop for tax practitioners.

Faculty from Virginia Tech, staff from the IRS, private tax practitioners, and the Virginia Department of Taxation will examine new tax laws and their implications and case studies to interpret new regulations. Topics for the major program will include

NEW TAX LEGISLATION
2002 legislation; 2001 legislation that is first effective in 2002 and later years

RULINGS AND CASES
Significant cases and rulings from this past year

INDIVIDUAL TAXPAYER ISSUES
Itemized deductions; long-term care insurance; AMT; community property issues; selling land for development; like-kind exchanges

SMALL BUSINESS ISSUES
Depreciation; purchase and sale of a business; split-dollar life insurance; leasing

OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES OF BUSINESS ENTITIES
Choosing a retirement plan; changing business entities; liquidation; personal holding company tax; debt basis of S-corporation

ISSUES FROM THE IRS
Electronic filing; practitioner errors; IRS procedural issues; federal and state symposiums; important tax updates; preparer penalties

RECAPTURE PROVISIONS
Depreciation recapture; recaptures under I. R. C. §179, §280F, §25A(i), §32(g), §45F(d), §71(f), §1231, §1231, §46, §465(e), §42(j)

EDUCATION PROVISIONS
Section 529 plans; education IRAs; education credits; higher education deduction; what scholarships are taxable; Pell grants

RETIREMENT
Catch-up for 2002; inherited accounts; distribution rules; choosing a beneficiary to stretch out distributions; splitting up IRAs in a divorce

FRINGE BENEFITS
Third party sick pay and donation of sick leave; employer side of fringe benefits: setting up and reporting; illegal aliens

FINANCIAL DISTRESS
Repossessed property; debt write down; NOL carryovers; personal bankruptcy; discharge of tax liability

ETHICS
Preparer penalties; circular 230 requirements for enrolled agents; ethics of ignoring Notice 2000-4

TAX RATES AND TABLES
Inflation adjusted items; table of phase-ins of 2001 Act provisions; depreciation tables; applicable federal rates for Nov. 2001 through Oct. 2002

AND MUCH MORE...

Brochures for the conferences have been mailed to tax practitioners, CPAs, lawyers, Commissioners of the Revenue, and other past attendees. Brochures are also available in Extension Unit and District Offices. Registration forms can be duplicated, or you may contact Brenda Chandler by phone: (540) 231-7936, fax: (540) 231-7417, or email: tax@vt.edu for further information. Our web site (http://www.tax.vt.edu) includes all conference information and an online registration form that can also be printed to mail or fax.

Special farm and forestry tax workshops are available to registered participants. Farm sessions take place from 5 - 7 p.m. at selected locations (see schedule). Virginia Tech agricultural lawyer, Leon Geyer, teaches the farm tax workshops. He will address

• Form 4797
• Peanut quota taxation
• Contracting
• Marketing rights in a cooperative with and without stock
• Recaptures under I. R.C. 2032A, 1255, 1252, 1254, 2032A
• Chapter 12: farm bankruptcy

Virginia Tech's Garland Gray Professor of Forestry, Harry Haney, will conduct the forestry workshops from 5 - 7 p.m. at selected locations (see schedule). He will cover

• A review of basic issues including
  Tax decisions that affect a forestry investment
  Capital investment expenditures and recovery
  Operating and management expenses
  Taxation of timber income - capital gains and depletion
  

• Recent developments in
  Like-kind exchanges
  Casualties and involuntary conversions
  Fertilization
  Conservation easements
  

• A review of Ag Handbook 718

The tax conference general sessions will run each day from 8:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. The registration fee includes a textbook, reference material, refreshment breaks, two luncheons, the farm and forestry workshops, and the What's New tax update that is mailed in January. Lodging is not included. The 700+ page Income Tax textbook is a comprehensive study manual used in more than 45 states. It is written and reviewed by CPAs, tax attorneys, IRS agents, and tax practitioners.

Please contact the Income Tax Conference Registrar, the Continuing Education Center, phone: (540) 231-2008, fax: (540) 231-3306 or e-mail: vttax@vt.edu for registration information.

2002 Virginia Tech Income Tax Conference Dates And Locations

General Sessions

November 11-12 - Richmond I

Wyndham Garden Hotel (Richmond Airport)

4700 S. Laburnam Ave. (804) 226-4300

November 13-14 - Staunton

Holiday Inn Golf & Conference Center

Woodrow Wilson Parkway (800) 932-9061

November 18-19 - Lynchburg

Holiday Inn Select

601 Main Street (804) 528-2500

November 20-21 - Roanoke

** NEW LOCATION**

Clarion Hotel Roanoke Airport

3315 Ordway Drive, NW (540) 362-4500

November 25-26 - Bristol

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites - Convention Center

3005 Linden Drive (540) 466-4100

December 2-3 - Dulles

Hyatt Dulles

2300 Dulles Corner Blvd. (703) 713-1234

December 4-5 - Fredericksburg

Holiday Inn Select

2801 Plank Road (540) 786-8321

December 9-10 - Williamsburg

Fort Magruder Inn (757) 220-2250 ext. 1160

Route 60 East (800) 582-1010

December 11-12 - Chesapeake

** NEW LOCATION**

Holiday Inn Greenbrier

725 Woodlake Drive (757) 523-1500

December 16-17 - Richmond II

** NEW LOCATION**

Richmond Marriott West

4240 Dominion Blvd. (Innsbrook) (804) 965-9500

Farm Sessions

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the following locations:

Richmond I--November 11

Staunton--November 13

Lynchburg--November 18

Roanoke--November 20

Bristol--November 25

Dulles--December 2

Fredericksburg--December 4

Williamsburg--December 9

Chesapeake--December 11

Forestry Sessions

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the following locations:

Bristol--November 26

Dulles--December 3

Chesapeake--December 16

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