2026 AICPA Tax School - Level 1 (4 days) - Beaverton

Overview

The Ultimate Toolkit for Junior Tax Staff

The 2026 AICPA Tax School Level 1 content will help you establish core skills and expand practical tax knowledge, including key issues surrounding recent changes to taxation of pension plans and IRS distributions, Medicare payroll tax, NIIT, S corporation distributions, items affecting shareholder basis, passive activity loss rules and much more.

This 4-day experience includes five complete courses and covers key areas to ensure early-career tax professionals are well prepared to begin their careers and support their firms.

• Individual Tax Fundamentals
• Tax Fundamentals of LLCs and Partnerships
• S Corporations: Key Issues, Compliance, and Tax Strategies
• Capitalized Costs and Depreciation
• Taxation of Property Transactions

IRS CE: Pending Approval

We encourage in-person attendance to maximize engagement, interaction, and networking. If you're unable to attend onsite, a live webcast option is available.

Register by 10/26/26 and save $250!

Highlights

Day 1 - Individual Tax Fundamentals

• Filing requirements and personal exemptions
• Gross income inclusions, exclusions, and adjustments
• Standard and itemized deductions
• Tax credits
• Tax provisions for high-income taxpayers
• 3.8% net investment income tax
• Roth IRA, IRA, and retirement plan options
• SECURE and SECURE 2.0 changes to retirement plan distributions
• Section 199A qualified business income deduction
• Individual tax provisions of H.R. 1, commonly referred to as OBBBA

• Identify which dividends are taxable.
• Identify individual retirement account (IRA) and qualified plan distributions.
• Recall how health savings accounts (HSAs) work.
• Recall the general rules of the self-employed health insurance deduction.
• Recall the deductibility of charitable contributions.
• Recall the steps to figuring the qualified business income deduction under Section 199A.
• Recall the net investment income tax (NIIT) on unearned income.
• Recognize the rules for taking advantage of the tax credits for higher education.

Day 2 - Tax Fundamentals of LLCs and Partnerships

• Basic tax structure of partnerships and LLCs
• Check-the-box elections to be taxed as a partnership
• Partnership distributions
• Compensatory payments to partners
• At-risk and passive activity limits
• Profit and loss allocations: general rules and restrictions

• Identify the effects of investor contributions and distributions on their basis in a partnership or LLC interest.
• Identify the tax basis of assets transferred to a partnership or limited liability company (LLC) at formation.
• Recognize the tax consequences of a transfer of liabilities to a partnership or LLC in connection with property transfers at formation.
• Indicate the correct treatment of partnership income by a partner for self-employment tax purposes.
• Distinguish between current and liquidating distributions.
• Recall whether special allocations called for in a partnership agreement will be allowable under the Section 704(b) regulations and when they will not be recognized by the IRS.

Day 3 - S Corporations: Key Issues, Compliance and Tax Strategies

• Advantages and disadvantages of S corporations
• Electing S corporation status
• Termination of S corporation status
• S corporation tax on built-in gains
• S corporation pass-through to shareholders, basis and losses
• S corporation distributions
• Taxable year of S corporations
• S corporation passive activity rules, fringe benefits and other considerations

• Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of S corporation status.
• Recognize when the S election becomes effective.
• Identify permitted fiscal years, elections, and user fees.
• Identify shareholder consent rules and causes of invalid elections.
• Recognize events causing involuntary termination.
• Recognize when an S corporation is subject to tax at the entity level.
• Recognize how accumulated earnings and profits, accumulated adjustments accounts, other adjustments accounts, and shareholder bases are affected by distributions.
• Recall the applicability of various S corporation filing requirements.

Day 4 - Capitalized Costs and Depreciation (morning)

• Recall the initial tax basis and adjusted tax basis of business property
• Identify the tax basis of self-constructed assets
• Distinguish between deductible repairs and capitalized improvements
• Recall changes in the tax rules to the classification of expenditures such as materials, supplies, repairs, and improvements
• Recall the fundamentals of modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) depreciation
• Recognize which assets are considered listed property
• Recognize the types of purchased intangible costs that must be capitalized

• Recall the initial tax basis and adjusted tax basis of business property.
• Identify the tax basis of self-constructed assets.
• Distinguish between deductible repairs and capitalized improvements.
• Recall changes in the tax rules to the classification of expenditures such as materials, supplies, repairs, and improvements.
• Recall the fundamentals of modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) depreciation.
• Recognize which assets are considered listed property.
• Recognize the types of purchased intangible costs that must be capitalized.

Day 4 - Taxation of Property Transactions (afternoon)

• Sections 1231, 1245, 1250
• Depreciation recapture
• Capital gains and losses
• Non-recognition transactions
• H.R. 1, commonly referred to as OBBBA

• Calculate gain or loss realized and recognized on business property dispositions.
• Apply the capital losses limitations and preferential tax rates on capital gains.
• Determine the impact of depreciation recapture on a taxpayer's taxable income and tax liability.
• Determine the tax basis of property received in a like-kind exchange.
• Determine allowable cost recovery deductions for replacement property acquired in a like-kind exchange or involuntary conversion.

Designed For

• Junior accounting and tax professionals
• Beginning staff members who want to develop a strong set of core skills

Objectives

Provide a comprehensive education about tax fundamentals for early-career tax staff in a series of five complete courses.