15th Annual New England
Enrolled Agents Conference

Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Society of Enrolled Agents and
The Northern New England Society of Enrolled Agents. 

Registration is restricted to CT, RI, Northern New England and MA members. The strictly enforced capacity of this event is 50 people. Non-member registration is not allowed for this event. This event will sell out. It is $425.00 for all three days. (You must register to attend all three days).

Earn up to 20 IRS CE Credits, (two of which are in ethics).

Overview of Topics: Social Security, OPR & Ethics, Estate and wealthy tax payer planning, Divorce, Latest IRS Procedural and Tax Changes

Keep yourself at your professional best! Join us for the 15th Annual Conference of New England Enrolled Agents. This high-profile educational and networking event will take place at thePublick House in Sturbridge, Mass., from Thursday, October 26 to Saturday, October 28. Hear from the region's best educators, and don't miss your chance to make valuable contacts with other Enrolled Agents.

Hotel Information – The Publick House Historic Inn and Country Lodge, 277 Main Street, aka Rt 131, Sturbridge, MA

Guest rooms can be booked on-line or via phone. Click on the Publick House link here to make online reservations at the group rate (group code is 1017MASO). Just make sure the correct arrival and departure dates are selected before you press the check availability button.

If you’d rather make a phone reservation, please call 508-347-3313 and refer to the group code 1017MASO.

The daily room rate is $125. The room block is in effect until October 1^st. 

 

Thursday October 26

7:00 AM-8:00 AM- Breakfast provided, sign-in and hello

8:00 AM-9:40 AM-Divorce (2 IRS CPE) – The judge will decide how couple will split, but who advises whom about the breakup of the HSA, 401k and so much more. There are tax procedures that make differences of thousands of dollars to your client.

9:40 AM-10:00 AM- Refreshment Break

10:00 AM-11:45 AM- How OPR is organized (2 IRS CPE) – Often little is understood about the office charged to assure competence and trustworthiness among tax practitioners. Learn how the office is organized, its mission and history. The issues of the latest subgroup report will be discussed.

11:45 AM-12:30 PM- Lunch provided

12:30 PM-2:10 PM- Trump’s Taxes (2 IRS CPE) – Major tax changes happened in 1954, the 70’s and 1986. Something coming down the track. Get the information that is needed to talk intelligently with your clients. This topic affects business planning as well as tax planning. 

2:10 PM- 2:30 PM- Break

2:30 PM - 4:15 PM- IRS and Security Summit Updates (2 IRS CPE) – Working in partnership with state tax agencies and the tax industry, the IRS has made significant progress against Identity Theft.  This session will inform tax professionals of the actions taken by the Security Summit and provide information on new initiatives that targets phishing schemes, business identity theft, account takeovers, ransomware attacks, remote takeovers, and EFIN thefts. It also will offer tips recommended by the IRS, the FBI and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which sets cybersecurity frameworks followed by government agencies, including the IRS. In addition to Mary Hanson, a representative from a New England Taxpayer Advocate Service office will be on hand.

4:15 PM- Evening and dinner on your own

Friday October 27

7:00 AM-8:00 AM- Breakfast provided

8:00 AM-9:40 AM-  Social Security (2 IRS CPE) – As a tax consultant and planner, enrolled agents must have a good handle on the details of what's behind the Social Security Program. This presentation is essential to assist properly your retiring clients. Learn the fine nuances of who is covered and excluded from Social Security and Medicare and the different tiers and ranges of benefits. Social security is not just for some qualifying retirees. It is also disability insurance and a survivor benefit program. Since this is a worldwide economy, some time will be spent to explain totalization agreements that help taxpayers to avoid dual coverage and taxation and assure portability across multiple nations.

9:40 AM-10:00 AM- Refreshment Break 

10:00 AM-11:45 AM- Business Succession Planning: Retire that profitable business without giving away the farm. (2 IRS CPE) – Transitioning ownership of a closely-held business requires proper planning and effort. Corporate structure, valuation issues, and family issues, among others, will likely come into play. Tax issues are another significant consideration. This panel will provide advice on navigating through these issues to achieve a favorable result for the client.

11:45 AM-12:30 PM- Lunch Provided

12:30 PM-2:10 PM- Planning and tax strategies for the high income taxpayer (2 IRS CPE) – After 401k contributions have been maximized, what else is there? Understand what is needed to take control of income, investment, estate, and business tax planning when the stakes are really high. Time will also be spent on what ill-considered actions exist.

2:10 PM- 2:30 PM- Break

2:30 PM - 4:15 PM- 110 minutes of Due Diligence with Karen (2 IRS Ethics CPE) – It’s the things that you don’t know that eventually come around to cause the most trouble, In addition to tax code, regulations and technology, EA’s are held to the highest standards of Ethics. A series of complex situations will be probed.

4:15 PM-5:15 PM- Break

5:15pm – Attendees Social Time & Dinner at the Oxhead Tavern, ($45 option- must select the optional dinner on the registration page).

 

Saturday October 28

7:00 AM- 8:00 AM- Breakfast Provided

8:00 AM-9:40 AM- Estate Planning and Advanced Asset Management, part i 

9:40 AM-10:00 AM- Break 

10:00 AM- 11:40 AM- Estate Planning and Advanced Asset Management, part ii

(4 IRS CPE), Estate planning can preserve assets, avoid or lessen estate taxation, and avoid court intervention in making your decisions. Planning also provides an opportunity to state your preferences regarding health care and end of life choices, vest authority in someone else to make those decisions and give you assurance that you have all your "ducks in a row." Without the proper estate planning, families may need to go to court to get the authority to make health care and financial decisions for their loved ones. Effective planning avoids court intervention, thereby saving money, effort and anxiety during an already stressful time.

 

Register Now! 

Speaker Bios

Amit Johar, EA has a tax practice that focuses on tax planning to maximize individual and small business retirement savings. He has a business degree in Finance from Bridgewater State University. He has sold and consulted entrepreneurial start-ups and has experience in the banking industry. He knows the complexities of running a small business focuses his tax practice on small business clients. Amit is a MaSEA Director, and has appeared on TV and radio tax shows.

Beth Logan, EA has a tax practice and consulting company in Chelmsford. She focuses on helping individuals and small businesses. She teaches tax classes to lay persons at various venues. She has written several articles for the NAEA Journal and published several books on tax topics including federal tax policy, divorce, bitcoin, medical marijuana, and annuities. Beth hosts WCAP Radio on Monday night in Lowell. Her other work time is spent helping small businesses grow as a management consultant and advising on financial decisions which can impact their taxes. She has an MBA from the University of Maryland and two engineering degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Mary Hanson is a Senior Stakeholder Liaison for the IRS and works out of the Andover Office. She holds a B.A in History from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA.  Mary began her career with the Service in 1985 at the IRS in Andover. While there, she worked in Adjustments, Collections, Problem Resolution, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service.  Mary worked in the Boston Office for 21 years. She was a Taxpayer Service Specialist in the Boston IRS Taxpayer Assistance Office providing face to face assistance to tax practitioners and taxpayers.   Mary took a position in Taxpayer Education and Communication in 2001.  In this position, Mary has been a presenter at numerous tax professional and small business organization events.  Mary returned to Andover last year to work as a Management and Program Analyst in Issue Management Resolution System (IMRS) Operations Support for 1 year. 

Stephen Richardson, Deputy Regional Communications Director, Social Security Administration. Steve Richardson has been with the Social Security Administration for 35 years. He has served as a Capitol Hill Fellow and worked as a Professional Budget Analyst for the Senate Budget Committee.  As Public Affairs Specialist, Richardson coordinates the Social Security Administration’s public affairs/public information activities in the six New England states.  He is widely respected as the premier subject authority on social security.

Shelby Wilson represents high net worth clients in the areas of estate planning, estate administration and tax law, and advises individuals, families, family foundations, and closely-held businesses on issues dealing with estate and generation-skipping tax planning, income tax planning, tax compliance, business succession planning, estate settlement and trust administration.  Ms. Wilson has extensive experience representing individuals, fiduciaries, and exempt organizations on a wide range of matters before Connecticut probate courts.  She is a frequent lecturer at the national and local levels on various trusts and estates topics affecting individual clients, families and closely-held businesses. 

Charlene Dolan, CFP is a certified financial planner and an accredited investment fiduciary. She possesses FINRA series 7, 63 & 24 registrations and life and health insurance agent licenses. She is an extremely active community volunteer. She is a principal at Dolan Financial Services with offices in Amesbury and Newburyport, a graduate of Merrimack College and former VP of The Provident Bank where she provided financial planning and investment services to the bank's advisory practice.

Karen Hawkins, former IRS Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), was appointed to that position by the IRS Commissioner. She is an attorney. For 25 years she was a partner at Taggert & Hawkins, a nationally esteemed firm that specialized in civil and criminal tax defense, complex procedural issues, innocent spouse defense and tax practice ethics. During her six years as OPR Director, Ms. Hawkins raised the acceptable standards of professionals in an unregulated tax industry. The visibility of OPR was magnified, as Ms. Hawkins made herself available to many tax industry groups. Today she is self employed as a consultant to assure that US Treasury Circular 230 is understood.

Jacqueline Voss Lees has been a practicing attorney in Salem for 26 years.  She earned her JD degree (1990) and her Master’s of Law Degree (LLM) in Estate Planning and Elder Law (2010) from Western New England College School of Law.  Ms. Lees is a member of the Massachusetts and Connecticut bars.   Since January 2000, she has done business as the Law Office of Jacqueline Voss Lees.  Prior to that time, she worked at the Law Office of Carl D. Goodman and she continues to be of counsel to Welch/Muzio.  Upon graduation from law school in 1990, she taught legal research and writing at her alma mater.  Ms. Lees is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

 

Hotel Information

Guest rooms can be booked on-line or via phone. Click on the Publick House link here to make online reservations at the group rate (group code is 1017MASO). Just make sure the correct arrival and departure dates are selected before you press the check availability button.

If you’d rather make a phone reservation, please call 508-347-3313 and refer to the group code 1017MASO.

The daily room rate is $125. The room block is in effect until October 1^st. 

 

Register Now!