Tax Staff Essentials, Level 1 - New Staff (58.5 CPE Credits) is designed to help beginning staff members develop a strong set of core skills. It focuses on individual and S corporation tax compliance plus professional business communications and more.


This series covers key areas to ensure your young tax force is well prepared to begin their careers. They'll learn about: 





Individual, partnership and S corporation tax compliance

Effective online tax research techniques

Clear and precise workpaper documentation

Effective professional business communications 



Your future tax professionals will also receive a broad range of practical tax instruction, including key issues surrounding: 





Individual taxation

New cost and repair regulations

S corporation distributions

Items affecting shareholder basis

Passive activity loss rules, and more



Courses Include:






Tax Research I

Individual Tax Fundamentals

Capitalized Costs & Depreciation

Working Paper Documentation

S Corporation Fundamentals

Effective Business Communication

Tax Fundamentals of LLCs & Partnerships



Note: These courses have been updated for the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) ("Tax Reform"). You'll have free access to a Course Supplement that provides an explanation of the key provisions of the TCJA (including topics not covered in your course).


Tax Staff Essentials is a comprehensive, integrated curriculum that provides tax training for four different experience levels and is available in four different formats: Online, On-site, Tax Schools and Webcasts.


Who Will Benefit? 





Junior accounting and tax professionals



Key Topics 





New individual income and corporate tax rates

New pass-through income rules

New rules for certain credits, deductions and qualified business income (QBI) deduction

Filing requirements and personal exemptions

Gross income inclusions, exclusions, and adjustments

Sole proprietorships, hobby loss rules and passive activities

Home offices, rental properties and vacation homes

Net Investment Income Tax and Medicare Payroll Tax

S corporations

Capital improvements and repair

Depreciation methods and IRS tables

Intangible asset amortization

Online tax research methodology and authoritative tax hierarchy

The power of professional language in business writing

Tax return support documentation



Learning Objectives 





Analyze and report business income and expenses of a sole proprietorship or a single member LLC on Schedule C to the Form 1040

Interpret and report rental activities on Schedule E to the Form 1040

Identify the specific "passive activity" rules

Determine if a change of filing status will improve the taxpayers' filing position based on itemized deductions

Determine when an S corporation may be advantageous for a business, how to make a proper election, and the income/loss that passes through to the shareholder

Recognize active and passive income and determine material participation as it relates to an individual S corporation shareholder

Understand the impact of converting a C corporation into an S corporation

Distinguish between deductible repairs and capitalized improvements under new tax regulations

Calculate the initial tax basis and adjusted tax basis of business property

Determine the tax basis of self-constructed assets



Credit Info 





CPE CREDITS: Online: 58.5 (CPE credit info)

NASBA FIELD OF STUDY: Taxes

LEVEL: Basic

PREREQUISITES:  Tax Staff with 0-2 years of experience

ADVANCE PREPARATION: None

DELIVERY METHOD: QAS Self-Study

COURSE ACRONYM: TSE.Level 1



Online Access Instructions


A personal pin code is enclosed in the physical packaging that may be activated online upon receipt. Once activated, you will gain immediate online access to the product.


System Requirements


AICPA’s online CPE courses will operate in a variety of configurations, but only the configuration described below is supported by AICPA technicians.


A stable and continuous internet connection is required. In order to record your completion of the online learning courses, please ensure you are connected to the internet at all times while taking the course. It is your responsibility to validate that CPE certificate(s) are available within your account after successfully completing the course and/or exam.


Supported Operating Systems:





Macintosh OS X 10.10 to present

Windows 7 to present



Supported Browsers:





Apple Safari

Google Chrome

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Mozilla Firefox



Required Browser Plug-ins:





Adobe Flash

Adobe Acrobat Reader



Technical Support: Please contact service@aicpa.org.