Course Details
Author: Danny Santucci, J.D.
Danny earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California at Irvine in 1969. He received his Juris Doctorate from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley in 1972, at which time he began practice as a tax attorney in Southern California.
His legal career was initiated with the business and litigation firm of Edwards, Edwards and Ashton. Later he joined the Century City entertainment firm of Bushkin, Gaims, Gaines & Jonas working for many well-known celebrities. In 1980, Danny established the law firm of Santucci, Potter and Leanders, in Irvine, California. With increasing lecture and writing commitments, Danny went into sole practice in 1995. His practice emphasizes business taxation, real estate law and estate planning.
Danny has been an officer and active member in various organizations including the Glendale Bar Association, Century City Bar Association, Orange County and Los Angeles County Bar Associations, California State Bar Association, Toastmasters and Lions Club. He also avidly supports the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been admitted to practice before all California and federal courts including the United States Tax Court and the United States Supreme Court.
Serving as a lecturer for the Continuing Education of the Bar of California, Golden Gate University, and numerous state C.P.A. societies, Danny teaches a variety of tax, business and real estate courses. Danny has been in demand all across the country as a speaker for all levels of professional and civic organizations and numerous major seminar circuits. Danny spoke to over 2,000 people per month and traveled more than 150,000 miles annually.
In 2015, he withdrew from the lecture circuit to devote himself to tax research and writing. The author of numerous texts, he is listed in "Who’s Who in Creative Real Estate" and is admitted to the American Exchangor’s Hall of Fame.
Publication/Revision Date: 3/6/2026
Course Exam Questions (online): 120 (multiple-choice)
Program Delivery Method: Self-Study (NASBA QAS Self-Study)
Available Formats of Course Text: Downloadable PDF, Printed/Mailed
Course Level, Prerequisites, and Advance Preparation Requirements
| License | Course Level | Prerequisites | Advance Preparation Requirements |
|---|
| CPA | Overview | None | None |
| CFP® | Intermediate | None | None |
| EA/OTRP | Overview | None | None |
* This program is appropriate for professionals at all organizational levels.
Sponsor ID Numbers
National Registry of CPE Sponsors I.D.: 107615
CFP Board Sponsor I.D.: 1008 — Course I.D.: 335281
IRS Qualified Sponsor I.D.: FWKKO — Course I.D.: FWKK0-T-00765-26-S
State CPA Board Sponsor ID Numbers (where applicable)
Florida Division of Certified Public Accounting: 0004761
Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy: 14003
New York State Board for Public Accountancy: 002146
Ohio Accountancy Board: CPE .51 PSR
Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy: PX178025
Texas State Board of Public Accountancy: 009349
Learning Objectives
Chapter 1: Basic Marital Tax Matters
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Determine how filing status affects taxpayers' filing requirements, standard deductions, and correct tax by identifying the requirements of filing a joint return or as head of household and how to avoid being penalized.
- Recognize the continuing importance and requirement of dependency and "qualified child" status for purposes of head of household filing status and joint custody.
- Determine deductible and nondeductible divorce expenditures, specify the effects of making separate estimated tax payments or joint declarations of estimated tax, and identify the effects of marital agreements and community income.
- State the effect of living together on filing statuses and dependency, citing differences with the married tax rate and other tax rates and cite the argument for attributable income.
After studying the materials in Chapter 1, answer exam questions 1 to 10.
Chapter 2: Children
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify the tax treatment of earned and unearned income for children, especially child expenses and investment income.
- Recognize the tests for the §21 dependent care credit and identify qualifications for §129 dependent care assistance.
After studying the materials in Chapter 2, answer exam questions 11 to 14.
Chapter 3: Education
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Determine the differences between qualifying §162 deductible and nonqualifying education and specify education expense credits under §25A, listing covered costs and fees.
- Identify the benefits and requirements of §530 education savings accounts and specify the deductible portion of student loan interest payments.
- Cite the tax and savings benefits of §529 of qualified tuition programs, §117 tax-free scholarship payments, and §135 educational savings bonds.
- Identify educational incentives and financial aid available to students and parents.
After studying the materials in Chapter 3, answer exam questions 15 to 23.
Chapter 4: Medical, Charitable & Casualty
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify deductible §213 medical costs for spouses and dependents, listing dependency requirements; determine the deductible costs for meals and lodging and specify the benefits and qualifications of HSAs.
- Specify variables that impact the deductibility of §170 charitable contributions, identifying limitations and substantiation requirements.
- Determine what constitutes casualty and theft, and specify between business and personal casualties under §165.
After studying the materials in Chapter 4, answer exam questions 24 to 32.
Chapter 5: Home Sales & Moving Expenses
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Recognize the relationship between home sales and capital gains rates.
- Determine the key elements of the §121 home sale exclusion and its application, and specify the safe harbor proration provisions associated with the home sale exclusion.
- Identify the exception to §217 moving expense disallowance and its requirements.
After studying the materials in Chapter 5, answer the exam questions 33 to 38.
Chapter 6: Home Mortgage Interest
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify categories of mortgages and characteristics of secured debt that influence the deductibility of interest and specify special situations that affect qualified home mortgage interest.
- Recognize the general rule for the tax treatment of points specifying exceptions and identify when a taxpayer will receive a Mortgage Interest Statement – Form 1098.
- Differentiate home mortgage interest from personal debt and determine what is qualified grandfather debt.
After studying the materials in Chapter 6, answer exam questions 39 to 44.
Chapter 7: Transfers Incident to Divorce
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify forms of marital property, stating their likely division in marital property settlements and recognize the benefits of marital agreements in avoiding potential divorce problems.
- Determine the requirements of §1041, stating how it changed the result of U.S. v. Davis regarding interspousal transfers; specify the factors that influence whether a property transfer is "incident to divorce"; and identify the tax treatment of transferring property subject to a debt.
- Specify the dangers of interspousal purchases, including deferred tax liability, determine the effects of purchasing an interest in real property held for investment, and identify related party issues on later sale.
- Determine the tax consequences of selected asset divisions incident to divorce.
After studying the materials in Chapter 7, answer the exam questions 45 to 58.
Chapter 8: Alimony & Child Support
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Determine the tax treatment of "alimony" based on the date of the divorce decree.
- Specify the types of §71 "divorce or separation instruments" for existing pre-2019 documents, how having an invalid or corrected decree impacts such an instrument, and what can qualify as a payment or be designated not as alimony.
- Define the continuing informational reporting of alimony for pre-2019 decrees and the collateral effects of the TCJA changes.
- Specify the tax treatment of child support, recognizing events that determine whether a contingency is clearly child-related and identify qualified medical child support orders to make the most of health care coverage plans.
After studying the materials in Chapter 8, answer the exam questions 59 to 68.
Chapter 9: Financial Tax Planning
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify financial goals and investment purposes and recognize the importance and relationship of money management and wealth building.
- Determine the tax consequences of title holding methods, specifying ways to hold title to assets and citing the tax benefits and drawbacks of corporations, qualified retirement plans, and trusts.
- Recognize the income needed at retirement and identify the purpose of savings, listing strategies to save.
After studying the materials in Chapter 9, answer the exam questions 69 to 75.
Chapter 10: Building an Estate
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify the goals of money management, listing types of income in order to preserve cash more effectively.
- Determine how to budget income into cash and convert income into assets by purchasing investments.
- Recognize tax-advantaged investments and determine the economic impact of accelerating deductions and postponing tax liability.
After studying the materials in Chapter 10, answer exam questions 76 to 82.
Chapter 11: Income Splitting
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Determine how splitting income among a family group minimizes overall taxes using major income-splitting formats, and recognize the use of an unincorporated business to obtain deductible business expenses.
- Identify the benefits and requirements of using a C or an S corporation, specifying the taxation of these entities, including their ability to split income, and determine §704(e) family partnership savings.
- Recognize a custodianship's ability to split income with minors and identify the use of §135 educational bonds.
After studying the materials in Chapter 11, answer the exam questions 83 to 88.
Chapter 12: Retirement Plans
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Determine the compensation base for nonqualified and qualified deferred plans and recognize the protections given by PBGC insurance.
- Identify the requirements of basic forms of qualified pension plans and their contribution and benefit limits.
- Determine the requirements of defined contribution and defined benefit retirement plans, specify the impact of requiring employee contributions, and state the requirements for plan terminations.
- Identify Keogh plans for self-employed persons and the impact of controlled businesses.
- Specify the requirements of IRAs, SEPs, and SIMPLEs, and tax-free Roth IRAs.
After studying the materials in Chapter 12, answer the exam questions 89 to 102.
Chapter 13: Distributions from Retirement Plans & IRAs
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify popular ways to receive distributions from a retirement plan or an IRA, specify types of annuities and their effect on how and when participants receive payments, and cite the special tax treatment given to NUA.
- Cite the key components of rollovers that can be used to reinvest cash or other assets without including the amount in income.
- Specify the tax consequences of taking premature distributions, assisting clients in avoiding the 10% penalty and recognize charitable distributions from plans.
After studying the materials in Chapter 13, answer the exam questions 103 to 108.
Chapter 14: Elderly & Disabled Planning
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Identify ways to manage an incompetent person's estate, specifying their uses and benefits.
- Recognize the basic eldercare benefits of Medicare and the possible use of a Medicaid trust and specify how to obtain disability benefits coverage.
After studying the materials in Chapter 14, answer the exam questions 109 to 112.
Chapter 15: Wills & Probate
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Specify types of wills, citing their basic provisions and recall ways to hold title and their income and estate tax ramifications.
- Identify the advantages of a properly drafted will, determine the distribution flow of simple wills, and specify the pros and cons of probate proceedings.
After studying the materials in Chapter 15, answer exam questions 113 to 116.
Chapter 16: Estate Planning
Learning Objectives
As a result of studying the course material, you should be able to meet the objectives listed below:
- Recognize the applicable exclusion amounts for various years of death and specify what constitutes "stepped-up basis" for estate tax purposes.
- Identify the benefits and drawbacks of the primary dispositive plans, specify the various types of estate trusts and recall the former advantages and disadvantages of the private annuity.
After studying the materials in Chapter 16, answer exam questions 117 to 120.
