January 7, 2027

Live Webcast

2 CPE Credits

Don Farmer's Top 10 S Corporation Return Issues & How to Avoid Them

January 7, 2027
Live Webcast
2 CPE Credits

Don Farmer's Top 10 S Corporation Return Issues & How to Avoid Them

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    Instructor

    Nick
    Preusch

    View Bio

    Nick Preusch, CPA, JD, LLM, MSA

    Bio

    Nick joined YHB in 2020 with over 15 years of experience in the industry. Nick is a graduate of Carthage College with a BS in Accounting and Business, the University of Connecticut with an MA in Accounting, Case Western Reserve University with a JD, and Georgetown University with an LLM in taxation. Nick has also worked with the Internal Revenue Service as a Revenue Agent and an Attorney with the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility.

    EXPERTISE

    Nick’s expertise includes helping high wealth individual and large business entities with complex tax compliance, along with specializing in international, non-for-profit tax issues, and tax ethics issues. He has used his tax expertise not only to serve his clients, but also his peers. He has authored publications for the AICPA’s Journal of Accountancy, AICPA’s Tax Advisor, NATP’s Tax Pro Journal, and CCH’s Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure and co-authored a textbook, Tax Preparer Penalties and Circular 230 Enforcement, published by Thomas Reuters. He has also lectured nationally on topics such as ethics, complex tax transactions, and IRS practice and procedure.

S corporation tax returns present recurring technical and compliance challenges that can expose shareholders and practitioners to costly errors. From basis limitations and shareholder distributions to reasonable compensation and built-in gains tax, small missteps can result in significant tax adjustments, penalties, and IRS scrutiny. This focused 2-hour program examines the ten most common S corporation return issues encountered by practitioners and provides practical guidance on how to identify, prevent, and correct them. Participants will review shareholder basis calculations, loss limitations, compensation requirements, eligibility rules, and reporting pitfalls frequently identified during IRS examinations. Through real-world examples and case-based discussion, attendees will gain actionable strategies to improve accuracy, strengthen documentation, and reduce audit risk in S corporation engagements.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to: 1. Identify common technical and reporting errors on S corporation tax returns. 2. Calculate shareholder stock and debt basis and determine the impact on loss deductions and distributions. 3. Recognize reasonable compensation requirements and related payroll compliance risks. 4. Determine eligibility and operational requirements necessary to maintain S corporation status. 5. Apply best practices to reduce audit exposure and improve return accuracy.

Major Topics

MAJOR TOPICS Overview of S Corporation Compliance Framework • Eligibility requirements under IRC §1361
• One class of stock rule
• Shareholder limitations
• Election considerations and termination risks Top 10 common S Corporation Return Issues: 1. Failure to Properly Track Shareholder Basis 2. Improper Deduction of Losses Without Sufficient Basis 3. Distributions in Excess of Basis 4. Inadequate Reasonable Compensation 5. Shareholder Loans Misclassified or Poorly Documented 6. Built-In Gains (BIG) Tax Issues 7. Passive Investment Income and Termination Risk 8. Improper Allocation of Income and Expenses 9. Fringe Benefits and Shareholder-Employee Issues 10. State Tax and Composite Filing Oversights

CPE Credits Available

2 CPE Credits
2
Taxes

Things to Know About This Course

Course Level

  • Intermediate

Professional Area of Focus

  • Tax; Taxation

Prerequisites

None

Advanced Preparation

None

Provider

Don Farmer Tax Education

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