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Over the course of 9 months, you'll engage with recorded video modules, discussion boards, and live review sessions, ensuring a flexible yet interactive experience.

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Launch your career in US tax preparation for an international clientele. This course is tailored to the foundational concepts and skills you need to work in a US tax office in Israel. Enroll today to be part of the next cohort of students to study international US tax!

Syllabus

  1. US Tax Framework

    1. History of US and Worldwide Taxation

    2. Reasons for taxation

    3. Tax law sources & Enactment of the Tax Law

  2. Administration of tax law

    1. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

    2. Enforcement

    3. Tax rate structures

  3. Types of Entities

    1. Sole Proprietorship

    2. Qualified Joint Venture

    3. Limited Liability Company (LLC)

    4. Single-member LLC

    5. Partnerships

    6. Corporation “C-Corp” (Inc./LTD)

    7. S Corporation (“S-Corp”)

    8. Trusts

    9. Estates

    10. Tax-Exempt Entities

  4. Types of Income

    1. What is and is not Income?

    2. Classification of Income – General or Passive Income

    3. Informational Reporting of Non-Income

  5. Who is Subject to U.S. Tax?

    1. Tax Residency

    2. US Residency for Individuals

      1. Citizenship Test

      2. “Green Card Test”

      3. Substantial Presence Test (SPT)

    3. Substantial Presence Exceptions

      1. Exceptions from Counting Days

      2. Exempt Individuals

      3. Closer Connection & Tax Treaties

  6. US Income of Non-residents

    1. Foreign Persons

    2. FDAP – Fixed, Determinable, Annual or Periodic Income

    3. ECI - Effectively Connected Income

  7. Individual Taxation

    1. Resident, Nonresident Alien, or Part-Year Resident?

    2. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs)

      1. What is an ITIN?

      2. Who is eligible?

      3. Application process and Acceptance Agents

      4. Filing Statuses for 1040NR (NRAs)

    3. Elections available to resident and non-resident aliens

      1. Election under IRC 7701(b)(4)

      2. Election under IRC 6013(g)

      3. Election under IRC 6013(h)

  8. Filing Statuses for US persons

    1. Requirements for Dependents

    2. Determining Filing Status

  9. Deductions and Credits

    1. Business & Rental Expenses

    2. Other “Above the Line” Deductions

    3. Standard Deduction and Itemized Deductions

    4. Exemptions and Exclusions

    5. Foreign Earned Income and Housing Exclusion (FEIE)

    6. Tax Credits

    7. Education Credits

    8. Foreign Tax Credit (FTC)

    9. Addbacks for MAGI

  10. Filing Thresholds and Tax Brackets

    1. Other Reasons to File

    2. Tax Bracket Structure

    3. Preferential Tax Rates 85

  11. Compliance and Timing

    1. How to File – e-file or Post

    2. Tax Refunds

    3. Due Dates

    4. When and How to Pay

    5. Penalties & Interest

    6. Reasonable Cause

    7. Statute of Limitations – SOLs

  12. Other Types of Taxes

    1. Sales and Use tax

    2. Excise tax

    3. Franchise Tax, State Tax, Local Taxes

    4. Other Federal Taxes

      1. Payroll (FICA) Taxes

      2. Self-employment tax

      3. Additional Medicare Tax

      4. Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)

  13. Exploring Entity Compliance

    1. Bookkeeping – Conceptual Overview

    2. Financial Statements

      1. Explanation of Balance Sheet, Income Statement, etc

      2. Financial Statements purpose, and how they are used

    3. Business Tax Reporting: 1065s and 1120s

  14. Doing business in the US

    1. Israeli companies doing business in the US

    2. US employees

      1. Employer/Employee relationship

      2. Salary, Benefits, and Employer costs

      3. Differentiation from contractors

    3. Sales tax to US customers

    4. Incorporation process & EIN

    5. Nexus

    6. Transfer pricing

    7. State and Franchise taxes

    8. Due diligence, dissolution, closing accounts

  15. US and Israeli Tax Forms

    1. Employee Compensation

      1. US Forms W-2

      2. Israeli Forms 106

      3. Retirement accounts

    2. Investment Income

      1. US Forms 1099

      2. Israeli Forms 867

      3. Wash Sales

    3. Passthrough Entity Income

      1. US Schedules K-1

      2. What information they report

      3. What entities prepare a K-1 and who should receive one

      4. State passthrough Income

      5. Additional K-1 issues to watch out for

    4. Tax Forms for non-residents

      1. Forms 1042-S

  16. Comparison of US and Israel tax

    1. Citizenship- based vs. Residency-based taxation

    2. Working Independently (Self-employment)

    3. Rental Income

    4. Pension distributions

    5. Social Security (SS) Retirement Pay

    6. Unemployment Benefits

    7. Gifts and Estate Tax

  17. Informational Reports

    1. FinCEN Form 114 - Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)

    2. Form 8938 - Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets

    3. Recent court cases affecting enforcement

  18. Rent and Depreciation

    1. US rental income of NRAs

    2. Depreciation – Recovery Period

    3. Depreciation – Depreciation Methods

    4. Passive Loss rules

    5. QBI Deduction – IRC 199A

    6. Sale of Principal Residence (IRC 121)

    7. Other Real Estate Transactions

  19. Form 5471 Reporting Certain Foreign Corporations

    1. Definitions

      1. CFC – Controlled foreign corporation

      2. SFC – Specified foreign corporation

      3. U.S. shareholder

      4. U.S. person

    2. Categories

      1. Determining which categories apply

      2. Who must file

    3. Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI)

  20. Compliance and correcting non-compliance

    1. Willful vs. Non-willful conduct

    2. Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures

      1. Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures

      2. Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures

    3. IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice (VDP)

    4. Delinquent FBAR submission procedures

    5. Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures

    6. Quiet disclosure

  21. Ethics & IRS Correspondence

    1. Key ethical principles

    2. Exploring ethical dilemmas

    3. Accessing taxpayer information for the IRS

      1. Power of Attorney Form 2848

      2. Tax Information Authorization Form 8821

      3. Third Party Designee and Oral Disclosure

    4. IRS Transcripts

      1. Types of transcripts

      2. Accessing and reading transcripts

      3. Examples of “Preparers Gone Wild” – Comparing the tax return and client story with the transcripts

    5. Types of IRS letters and responses

  22. Tax Treaties

    1. Reciprocity Agreements

    2. Purposes of Tax Treaties

    3. How to approach treaties

    4. Savings Clause and Exceptions

    5. What’s in the US-Israel Tax Treaty

    6. Form 8833 Disclosure

  23. Employee Equity Incentive Plans

    1. How to Identify types of plans and how they work

      1. Non-qualified Stock Options (NQSO)

      2. Incentive Stock Options (ISO)

      3. Restricted Stock Units (RSU)

      4. Employee Stop Purchase Plan (ESPP)

    2. Comparison of US and Israel Taxation

    3. Timelines for taxation

    4. Challenges and strategies

  24. Industry Practicalities

    1. Certifications and responsibilities

      1. Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

      2. Enrolled Agent (EA)

      3. Annual Filing Season Program (AFSP) Record of Completion

      4. Attorney

    2. Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTIN)

    3. What to expect in the US tax industry in Israel

    4. Tips for applying to jobs and job-placement assistance

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