This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• EITC is the largest refundable tax credit, providing a refund even with zero tax liability.

• The 2025 investment income limit is a strict $11,950 cliff; exceeding it by one dollar means zero credit.

• A qualifying child must meet four specific tests: Relationship, Age, Residency, and Joint Return (R-A-R-J).

• Taxpayers must satisfy separate limits for both their earned income and their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

• Taxpayers without a qualifying child can be eligible, but they must be between the ages of 25 and 65.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• A qualifying child must be under age 13; expenses stop qualifying on their 13th birthday.

• Expenses must be for care, not education; overnight camps and school tuition are common non-qualifying examples.

• The credit is limited by the lower of the two spouses' earned incomes.

• A non-working student or disabled spouse is deemed to have earned income of $250 or $500 per month.

• The maximum expenses used for the credit are $3,000 for one qualifying person and $6,000 for two or more.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• The Child Tax Credit for 2025 increases to $2,200 per child under the One Big Beautiful Bill.

• How to apply the "CARES" mnemonic to determine if a child is a qualifying child for the credit.

• How the credit is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 of income over the $200,000 (Single) or $400,000 (MFJ) thresholds.

• The rules for the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), which is capped at $1,700 per child.

• That a taxpayer must have at least $2,500 in earned income to claim the refundable portion of the credit.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• The critical 2025 QBI income thresholds ($197,300 Single / $394,600 MFJ) that trigger the complex limitations.

• How the QBI deduction for a Specified Service Trade or Business (SSTB) is completely eliminated if taxable income exceeds the phase-out range.

• The two-part calculation for the W-2 wage and unadjusted basis of qualified property (UBIA) limitation for taxpayers above the threshold.

• The common exam trap of choosing the lesser of the 20% QBI calculation and the greater of the wage/property limitation formulas.

• The conceptual purpose of the aggregation rule, which allows combining businesses to potentially increase the QBI deduction.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• How to calculate the basic Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction.

• The critical 'lesser of' limitation that determines the final deduction amount.

• Why taxable income before the QBI deduction is a key figure in the calculation.

• The specific role of net capital gains in reducing the taxable income limitation.

• A common exam trap where test-takers forget to apply the taxable income limitation.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• Gambling losses are only deductible up to the amount of your reported gambling winnings.

• For casual gamblers, losses are an itemized deduction on Schedule A and do not reduce Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

• Professional gamblers report on Schedule C, but a net gambling loss cannot offset other types of income.

• Gross winnings must be reported as income; you cannot simply report the net result of winnings minus losses.

• The IRS requires strict documentation to substantiate claimed losses, and without it, the deduction can be fully disallowed.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• Personal casualty and theft losses are only deductible if they occur in a federally declared disaster area.

• The deductible loss is calculated by taking the lesser of the property's basis or the decrease in FMV, then subtracting insurance payouts.

• Each casualty event is subject to a $100 reduction, followed by a reduction of 10% of the taxpayer's Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

• The strict disaster area rule does not apply to business or income-producing property, which is a common exam distinction.

• Taxpayers may elect to deduct the loss on the tax return for the year preceding the disaster year, potentially for a greater tax benefit.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• Deduct the Fair Market Value (FMV) for long-term capital gain property, but this deduction is limited to 30% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

• For ordinary income property, such as business inventory or short-term capital assets, the deduction is capped at the lesser of the property's cost basis or its FMV.

• Vehicle donation deductions are generally restricted to the gross proceeds the charity receives from its sale, an amount reported to the donor on Form 1098-C.

• A qualified appraisal is mandatory for any noncash contribution of an item or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000.

• You must file Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions, if your total deduction for all noncash gifts in a year exceeds $500.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• The maximum deduction for cash contributions to public charities is limited to 60% of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

• Excess contributions over the 60% AGI limit can be carried forward for a maximum of five years.

• A canceled check is insufficient proof for any single donation of $250 or more; a formal written acknowledgment from the charity is required.

• The deductible amount of a "quid pro quo" contribution must be reduced by the value of any benefit or service the donor receives.

• Pandemic-era provisions allowing non-itemizers to deduct charitable contributions have expired and are not applicable for the 2025 tax year.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

• The home acquisition debt limit is $750,000 ($375,000 MFS) for mortgages taken out after December 15, 2017.

• Mortgages from on or before December 15, 2017 are grandfathered under the older $1 million limit ($500,000 MFS).

• Interest on home equity debt is only deductible if the proceeds are used to buy, build, or substantially improve the qualified residence.

• Points paid on an original mortgage are deductible in the year paid, but points on a refinance must be amortized over the loan's life.

• The interest amount on Form 1098 must be adjusted if the mortgage balance exceeds the legal debt limitations.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep