Spent 2 days last week in Tukwila at the WSSEA sponsored 1040 Tax Update seminar put on by TaxSpeaker. They have been here several years in a row and are known for their good mix of technical expertise and speaking skills. They received the CPA Practice Advisor readers’ choice award in 2016.

The tax law changes for 2016 were relativity minor, so they went deep into several other tax topics, such as Like Kind Exchanges (used primarily for Real Estate transfers), Foreign reporting both IRS and Treasury, Emerging Economy and Small Business issues.

As a member of the NAEA (National Association of Enrolled Agents) I am required to have 30 hours of formal Continuing Education each year. In 2016 I had 79 hours of CPE, there is always more to learn, either with new laws, new court cases or expanding my tax knowledge.

We expect next year with the new administration that there will be many changes to the tax code. Some of the proposals that are out there will simplifying the code and reduce some of the tax rates. At this point it is too early to tell, but the changes are expected to be significant. Stay tuned!