Individual Income Tax Credits and Due Diligence covers various tax credits for individuals, including eligibility, timing, limitations, phaseouts, carryovers, qualified expenses, and calculations. It discusses credits like the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and American Opportunity Tax Credit. The final chapter focuses on due diligence for tax preparers, including principles, knowledge, Form 8867, recordkeeping, common errors, penalties, and IRS actions.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe and identify the requirements for claiming the various income tax credits available to individual taxpayers
  • Discuss the due diligence requirements a tax preparer must meet when preparing a tax return claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC), American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), and Other Dependent Credit (ODC)
  • Recognize the records a tax return preparer is required to keep to support a clients claim for the EIC, AOTC, CTC, ACTC, and ODC
  • Identify the penalties that may be imposed on a tax preparer and his or her employer for failing to comply with due diligence requirements when preparing a clients tax