Tax Planning for High-Income Individuals

Categories: Federal Tax, IRS CE
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About Course

This two-hour advanced continuing education course equips tax professionals with practical, federal-tax-focused strategies for high-income individual clients — the surtaxes that hit them hardest, and the planning techniques that genuinely move the needle on their overall tax liability. The course is built for enrolled agents and other tax return preparers who already handle individual returns and want to serve high-income and high-net-worth clients with confidence.

Participants examine the Net Investment Income Tax under IRC §1411 and the Additional Medicare Tax, Roth conversion planning and the pro-rata rule, capital gain and loss timing strategies including the Section 1202 qualified small business stock exclusion, charitable giving techniques including bunching and qualified charitable distributions, and income shifting and estimated tax planning considerations specific to high-income clients. Throughout the course, the focus remains on federal tax law as it applies to high-income individual taxpayers.

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What Will You Learn?

  • Apply the Net Investment Income Tax under IRC §1411 and the Additional Medicare Tax under IRC §3101(b)(2) to a high-income client's tax situation
  • Apply Roth conversion planning techniques, including the pro-rata rule and multi-year conversion strategies
  • Apply charitable giving strategies including deduction bunching, donor-advised funds, and qualified charitable distributions
  • Apply capital gain and loss timing strategies to manage a high-income client's overall tax liability
  • Identify the limitations on income shifting under the assignment of income doctrine and the kiddie tax rules
  • Apply estimated tax planning considerations specific to high-income clients with irregular or concentrated income

Course Content

Module 1 – The Net Investment Income Tax and Additional Medicare Tax
This module covers the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax under IRC §1411 — what counts as net investment income, the material participation exception for rental real estate, and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, including the multi-employer withholding mismatch that catches many dual-income households by surprise.

  • The Net Investment Income Tax and Additional Medicare Tax

Module 2 – Roth Conversions and Capital Gain Timing
This module addresses Roth conversion mechanics and the pro-rata rule, multi-year bracket-filling conversion strategies, capital gain and loss harvesting, the net unrealized appreciation strategy for employer stock, and the Section 1202 qualified small business stock exclusion.

Module 3 – Charitable Giving Strategies for High-Income Clients
This module covers deduction bunching and the standard deduction threshold, donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, contributions of appreciated property, and charitable remainder and lead trusts.

Module 4 – Income Shifting and Estimated Tax Planning
The final module covers the assignment of income doctrine, the kiddie tax, legitimate income-shifting techniques, nonqualified deferred compensation timing under Section 409A, and estimated tax planning for clients with irregular or concentrated income.

Final Assessment – Tax Planning for High-Income Individuals
You have completed an advanced review of federal tax planning for high-income individual clients, covering the Net Investment Income Tax and Additional Medicare Tax, Roth conversion and capital gain timing strategies, charitable giving techniques, and income shifting and estimated tax planning. You are now prepared to demonstrate your understanding of the key concepts. The following final examination assesses your knowledge of the material covered in all four modules. A passing score of 70% is required to successfully complete the course.

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