...the fact that you are using a CPA for tax prep, and suggesting that others do so as well, scares me. CPAs are not for tax preparation. You have a question about the tax code, you ask a tax lawyer, not a CPA. CPAs are accountants.
Wow! Where do I start, except to say that I'm an Enrolled Agent, meaning that I'm authorized ("licensed" as it were) by the IRS to represent taxpayers before all levels of the Internal Revenue Service." In other words, I'm a tax professional with a certification that goes back well over 100 years. Attorneys have had that right for less time and CPAs for a lot less than that. I'm also the tax manager in a small but nationally recognized CPA firm. Most CPAs (including all of the final 4) do lots and lots of tax work, much of it referred by tax attorneys who, for the most part, handle tax controversy matters and answer questions a lot harder than KDawson's. And they do so somewhere north of $300-$400 an hour if they're even half-good.
I'll leave it to others to respond to the original poster's query, but will confirm that, no, you cannot write off your time. The tax rules can be complicated (and just because your accountant/lawyer/taxguy says it's so doesn't mean it will be upheld on audit unless the facts support it).
Find a good CPA who knows your industry, or better yet, an Enrolled Agent. Or get a referral from a tax attorney.
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Impressive! Just how old are you?
Touche'
It's the certification that's over 100 years old. But sometimes I feel old enough to be the holder of certificate #1.
...the fact that you are using a CPA for tax prep, and suggesting that others do so as well, scares me. CPAs are not for tax preparation. You have a question about the tax code, you ask a tax lawyer, not a CPA. CPAs are accountants.
Wow! Where do I start, except to say that I'm an Enrolled Agent, meaning that I'm authorized ("licensed" as it were) by the IRS to represent taxpayers before all levels of the Internal Revenue Service." In other words, I'm a tax professional with a certification that goes back well over 100 years. Attorneys have had that right for less time and CPAs for a lot less than that. I'm also the tax manager in a small but nationally recognized CPA firm. Most CPAs (including all of the final 4) do lots and lots of tax work, much of it referred by tax attorneys who, for the most part, handle tax controversy matters and answer questions a lot harder than KDawson's. And they do so somewhere north of $300-$400 an hour if they're even half-good. I'll leave it to others to respond to the original poster's query, but will confirm that, no, you cannot write off your time. The tax rules can be complicated (and just because your accountant/lawyer/taxguy says it's so doesn't mean it will be upheld on audit unless the facts support it). Find a good CPA who knows your industry, or better yet, an Enrolled Agent. Or get a referral from a tax attorney.