Finance Exam Prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The crucial difference between Form 1023 for charitable 501(c)(3) organizations and Form 1024 for other non-profits like social clubs and business leagues. - The specific financial thresholds for using the streamlined Form 1023-EZ, including the $50,000 gross receipts and $250,000 total asset limits. - How the 27-month rule determines if an organization's tax-exempt status is r...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The three-part test (Trade, Regularly Carried On, Not Substantially Related) for identifying Unrelated Business Income (UBI). - How the $1,000 specific deduction reduces Unrelated Business Taxable Income (UBTI). - Common exam traps involving passive income, volunteer labor, and debt-financed property. - The function and filing requirement of Form 990-T for exempt organizations w...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The key filing thresholds for Form 990 are gross receipts of $200,000 or more, OR total assets of $500,000 or more. - Organizations with gross receipts under $200,000 AND assets under $500,000 may be eligible to file the simplified Form 990-EZ. - Private foundations must always file Form 990-PF, regardless of their income or asset levels. ...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That all 501(c)(3) organizations are considered private foundations by default unless they can prove they qualify for public charity status. - Which types of organizations, such as churches, schools, and hospitals, are automatically classified as public charities. - How the one-third public support test is used to determine if an organization q...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How gifts exceeding the annual exclusion ($19,000 for 2025-2026) trigger a Form 709 filing requirement, even if no tax is due. - The rules for gift splitting, which allows married couples to double the annual exclusion to $38,000 per donee but requires filing Form 709. - The critical distinction for unlimited exclusions: tuition and medical p...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Form 706 is required when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the lifetime exemption ($15 million in 2026). - The unlimited marital and charitable deductions can significantly reduce the taxable estate. - A surviving spouse can use a deceased spouse's unused estate tax exemption (DSUE) only if a timely Form 706 is filed t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - An estate is a separate taxpayer from the decedent, reporting post-death income on Form 1041. - Unlike individuals, an estate can elect a fiscal year, creating flexibility for the initial return period and due date. - Estates are entitled to a $600 personal exemption, which is also the gross income threshold for the f...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That a grantor trust is a pass-through entity for income tax, with all tax consequences reported on the grantor's personal Form 1040. - To identify the key triggers for grantor trust status, including revocation powers, reversionary interests over 5%, control of beneficial enjoyment, and specific administrative powers. - How tax reporting works: the t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That Distributable Net Income (DNI) acts as a ceiling for both the trust's distribution deduction and the beneficiary's reportable income. - Why capital gains allocated to the trust's principal (corpus) are the most common and critical exclusion from the DNI calculation on the EA exam. - How tax-exempt interest is included i...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The three strict requirements a trust must meet to be classified as 'simple.' - How a trust's classification can change from simple to complex on a year-by-year basis based on its actions. - Why the specific terms written in the trust document, not just the annual distributions, can automatically make a...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose of Form 1041 for reporting income for estates and trusts. - How severely compressed tax brackets cause trust income to be taxed at the highest rates at very low thresholds. - The fundamental pass-through principle: trusts are taxed on retained income, while beneficiaries are taxed on distributed income. - The r...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Why an S corporation is often the optimal choice for a single-owner business aiming to reduce self-employment taxes. - The critical differences in tax treatment for buyers and sellers in asset versus stock acquisitions, and why buyers prefer a stepped-up basis. - How the related-party rules under IRC Section 267 disallow immediate l...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - C corporations must make estimated tax payments if their expected annual tax is $500 or more. - The four quarterly payment due dates for a calendar-year corporation are April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15. - Safe harbors to avoid the underpayment penalty include paying 100% of the current year's tax or 100% of the prior y...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The purpose of Schedule M-1 and its role in reconciling book income to taxable income for corporations with assets under $10 million. - When the more detailed and complex Schedule M-3 is required for corporations with $10 million or more in assets. - How to properly add back non-deductible expenses, such as federal i...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The due date for a calendar-year Form 1065 is March 15th, with a six-month extension available via Form 7004. - Form 1065 is an informational return; tax liability flows through to individual partners via the Schedule K-1. - Separately stated items, like capital gains and charitable contributions, are not part of ordinary business income a...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The annual due date for Form 1120-S is the 15th day of the 3rd month after year-end (March 15 for calendar year filers). - S corps are pass-through entities, reporting income, deductions, and credits to shareholders on Schedule K-1. - Shareholders are taxed on their pro-rata share of income, regardless of whether t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The distinct purpose of Form 1120 Schedules L, M-1, and M-2. - How to perform a book-to-tax reconciliation on Schedule M-1 with common exam-style adjustments. - The key differences and filing thresholds for using Schedule M-1 versus the more detailed Schedule M-3. - The standard due date for the corporate tax return a...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The General Business Credit (GBC) is an aggregation of over 30 individual business credits, with one overall limitation. - The GBC limitation is calculated as net income tax minus the greater of the Tentative Minimum Tax (TMT) or 25% of regular tax liability over $25,000. - A common exam trap is forgetting to compare t...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit requires fewer than 25 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) employees, which is based on total hours worked, not a simple headcount. - Eligibility requires average annual wages below an inflation-adjusted threshold and that the health insurance be purchased through a SHOP Marketplace. - The maximum credit is 50% o...

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate the Employer-Provided Childcare Credit using the 25% and 10% rates. - The maximum annual credit limit of $150,000 and how it functions as a common exam trap. - The key requirements for a 'qualified childcare facility', including non-discrimination rules. - The critical 10-year recapture rule that applies if a facility ceases o...