Tax Law Board Certification by the TBLS

According to TBLS, the tax law exam requires a hands on/working knowledge of the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury Regulations including a strong familiarity with the organization of the tax statutes and the administrative documents.

Topics on the exam might include any of the following topics:

1. Federal Income Tax aspects of:
   • Marital Property Rights
   • Foreclosure, Bankruptcy and Debt Reorganization
   • Cancellation of Indebtedness Income
2. Federal Income Tax rules relating to:
   • Partnerships
   • Corporations, including S and C corporations
   • Related Party Transactions, Passive Activity Losses and Limitations on Deductions, At Risk Rules
   • Fiduciaries
3. Tax Exempt Organization, including public charities and private foundations
4. Tax Consequences of Pass-Through Entities
5. Corporate Formation, Redemption, Liquidation, Acquisition, and Reorganization
6. Real Estate Like-Kind Exchange and Installment Reporting
7. Employee Benefit Plans
   • Qualified Retirement Plans
   • Non-Qualified Employee Benefit Plans
   • IRAs
   • Deferred Compensation
   • Stock Options 
   • Other Compensation Arrangements
   • Federal Income Tax Rules
   • Required Beginning Date (RBD) Rules
   • Minimum Required Distribution (MRD) Rules 
8. Federal Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Rules and Considerations, including related income tax concepts pertaining to estates, trusts, individuals, fiduciaries, and business entities; including income in respect of decedent (IRD) rules; asset adjusted cost basis rules; distributable net income (DNI) rules; distribution deduction rules; the impact of the Uniform Principal and Income Act; and the pertinent elections.
9. Tax Ethics; including the pertinent ABA Model Rules, Treasury Circular 230, the tax return preparer rules, tax/representation matters, and confidentiality/new restrictive disclosure rules.
10. Procedures Related to the Imposition, Collection and Payment of Federal Taxes, Penalties and Interest, including IRS Appeals; also including civil and criminal tax matters and procedures in the United States Court of Federal Claims, United States Tax Court and the United States District Court in which civil and criminal tax controversies may be litigated.

TBLS defines tax law to include: 

• consultations with clients and the giving of advice regarding the tax consequences of proposed, completed and ongoing transactions;
• the giving of advice regarding the reporting of transactions and other matters of taxing authorities;
• practice before the Internal Revenue Service and other taxing authorities with respect to proposed, completed and ongoing transactions and other matters; and
• the administrative appeal and litigation of tax issues.

According to TBLS, the practice of tax law may involve special emphasis in subspecialties such as "income, estate or gift tax law, international tax law, business associations tax law, oil and gas tax law, employee benefits tax law, and criminal tax law, but applicant must demonstrate a broad-based knowledge of the area of tax law."