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Mike Thrift

Marketing Manager

Section 6694 Tax Preparer Penalties: How Unreasonable Positions, Willful Conduct, and Section 6695 Due Diligence Failures Cost CPAs and EAs Real Money

Section 6694 imposes preparer penalties of $1,000 or 50% of fees for unreasonable positions, escalating to $5,000 or 75% for willful or reckless conduct. Section 6695(g) adds roughly $650 per EITC, CTC, AOTC, or head-of-household failure on every return. Here is how CPAs and EAs document, disclose, and defend their way out of them.

Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures: How Non-Willful US Taxpayers Catch Up on FBAR, Form 8938, and Three Years of Late Returns Without Crushing Penalties

How non-willful US taxpayers use the IRS Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to catch up on FBAR, Form 8938, and three years of late returns—zero penalty under SFOP for taxpayers abroad, a one-time 5% miscellaneous offshore penalty under SDOP for domestic filers, plus what the non-willfulness certification must demonstrate.

Trader Tax Status and the Section 475(f) Mark-to-Market Election: How Active Traders Escape the Wash Sale Rule and the $3,000 Capital Loss Cap

Active traders can convert capital losses into ordinary deductions and eliminate the wash sale rule by filing a Section 475(f) mark-to-market election — but the statement must be attached to the prior year's April 15 return. A working guide to qualifying for trader tax status, the three big benefits of the election, Form 3115 mechanics, and the mistakes that invalidate it.