Tax Update: Key Tax Considerations for Institutions of Higher Education

Joshua Guiser - Washington & Jefferson College
Sarah Piot - Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.
Russ Grunebach - Duquesne University
Erin Wood - Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.

During this session the presenters will discuss current trending topics in tax that have an impact on organizations in the higher education space. Specifically, the panel will focus first on any provisions within the draft (or newly enacted) tax bill that will affect educational institutions. Potential topics are the excise tax on the net investment income of endowments, tax-exempt bonds, changes to the corporate tax rate, and the removal of credits often used by higher education students. The tax practitioner panelists will discuss the technical aspects of the tax bill, and the university co-presenter will discuss their expectations of how the provisions will affect their universities on a practical level. The presentation will be a panel discussion with audience questions, comments, and thoughts highly encouraged. The goal is to hear as many different viewpoints and thoughts as possible from the audience and participants.

Depending on the breadth of provisions in the new tax bill that will affect higher education institutions, we may have additional time in the presentation. If this is the case, we will touch on other topics that are of interest to colleges and universities such as the taxability of executive benefits, scholarships, and fellowships, worker classification issues, and the status of operations at the Internal Revenue Service.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the provisions within the new tax bill that will have an impact on their institution.
2. Describe to executives within their organizations the exact impact that the provisions will have.
3. Understand how their peers are addressing changes in tax policy.

CPE Available

• 1 Credit: Taxes