Personal Workstation — Bennett Household

The household side, in one read

The business desk owns Schedule C; this desk owns the 1040 that receives it — the OBBBA deductions most households can't actually claim (shown anyway, with the why), the Roth lane with its pro-rata wall, credits with cliffs, the standard-vs-itemized decision priced, harvesting behind the wash-sale wall, and the safe-harbor pay-in schedule. Every figure is a modeled range on sample data, gated for review.

Modeled on the board

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Triggered, above-floor checks + household credits + harvest at current inputs. Gated for CPA review — nothing here is a filing position.

As of —

Evidence-backed today

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Only items whose evidence object is verified count here. The gap is the to-do list, not a promise.

Coverage (computed)

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Verified-or-final items ÷ all tracked items. Computed from the registry — never typed.

Cross-desk feeds (one number, one owner)

Schedule C profit → this 1040—

½ SE tax + §162(l) (business desk computes)—

MAGI (derived here, drives every cliff)—

HSA · retirement capacity · QBIbusiness desk

Feeds are pointers, never re-computation. A SEP adopted business-side changes two cards here — the pro-rata wall and spousal-IRA deductibility — both flagged live.

Standing routed determinations

RItemize posture — the year's facts decide, the CPA signsCPA

RConversion amount & year — IRMAA + cliff interactionsCPA

R"Substantially identical" on harvest replacementsCPA

RBasis at death · gifting · trustsEstate workstation

Routed means both branches computed, then stopped. The professional decides; the register records it.

What this desk will not model: recasting regular pay as "tips," wash-sale laundering through a spouse or IRA, inflated charitable values without a qualified appraisal (§170(f)(11)), offshore pension schemes, Roth asset-stuffing. The deliberate-NO list is part of the product.

Personal sweep

Twelve checks — the four OBBBA deductions everyone asks about render first, and for this household most are honestly not triggered. The off-cards carry the reason, because "you don't qualify, and here's why" is the answer that builds trust. $100 materiality floor; suppressed cards stay visible.

Sch C profit ($)

§162(l) premiums ($)default

Fed marginal %

Auto-loan interest ($)default

Childcare paid ($)default

Cash gifts ($)default

Modeled (triggered, above floor)

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Tax-effect sum at current inputs. Gated for CPA review.

Evidence-backed

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Verified evidence objects only. The gap is the paperwork queue.

The math, shown

Auto-loan interest (§163(h)(4), OBBBA): min(interest, $10,000) × phase-fraction × marginal, where the MFJ phase runs $200K→$250K MAGI ratably — this household's MAGI computes live above.
Non-itemizer charitable: min(cash gifts, $2,000 MFJ) × marginal — from 2026, cash only, no DAFs, and only in a standard-deduction year (the stack engine enforces the exclusivity).
Child & dependent care §21: min(paid, $3,000 one child) × 20% at this AGI — a credit, not a deduction. OBBBA's enhanced rate band reaches 50% at low AGI (rate table = registry row).
Tips · overtime · senior render with their caps and phase-outs and switch on only when the facts do.

Statutes: P.L. 119-21 (OBBBA) §§70201–70204 lanes · §21 · §170(p) · §221 · §25B · §408(d)(8). As-of stamps carry each figure's verification date.

Roth & IRA lane

Direct Roth and backdoor render as both branches — the band decides which is live, and the pro-rata wall is on the board before anyone needs it. Conversions carry counterweights, not just arbitrage.

Conversion amount ($)default

Expected later rate %default

Pre-tax IRA balances ($)default

Direct Roth — live branch

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Gated for CPA review

As of —

Backdoor — conditional branch

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Routed · pro-rata §408(d)(2)

Conversion arbitrage (face)

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NPV twin — tax paid now vs avoided at horizon—

Amount × (later rate − now rate). Counterweights: cash to pay the tax must come from outside the IRA; IRMAA lookback; every dollar converted raises MAGI toward the CTC and auto-loan cliffs — the cliffs are live on this desk.

Routed · conversion amount & year — CPA

The pro-rata wall — §408(d)(2)

Pre-tax IRA/SEP/SIMPLE balances—

Backdoor taxable fraction if used—

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Cross-desk counterweight: a SEP adopted on the business desk poisons the backdoor here. Both desks render this line; neither hides it.

Household IRA capacity — TY2026

Omar + Talia (spousal §219(c))—

MFJ Roth phase-out band$242,500–$252,500

Mega-backdoorrouted → plan design

Limits per Notice 2025-67, verified 2026-07-03. Mega-backdoor needs after-tax + in-plan-conversion plan features — the business desk's retirement stack and the TPA own that document. Deductibility of traditional contributions flips with active-participant status — flagged live if the business adopts a plan.

Deferral, not free money — NPV renders on the business desk

Equity comp — Vestwork module

Talia’s startup grant, modeled both ways: the §83(b) election beside its forfeiture counterweight, and the ISO exercise beside its AMT bill. Elections and exercises belong to the CPA — this module computes branches and routes. QSBS/§1045 math lives on the Markets desk — pointer below, never a second engine.

E-V1 · §83(b) election pair routed · CPA · VST.pos.001

Restricted sharesdefault

FMV/share at grant ($)default

Modeled FMV at vest ($)default

Elect — ordinary income now (grant spread × marginal)—

Don’t elect — ordinary at vest (§83(a), full-vest modeled)—

Character arbitrage if it appreciates (ordinary → LTCG on the run-up)—

Forfeiture counterweight — §83(b)(1): tax paid, no deduction back—

The deadline — 30 days from transfer, no extensions, no revocationReg. §1.83-2 · mailing proof = VST.evid.001

Show the math & law

electNow = sh × (fmvGrant − paid) × marginal · defaultAtVest = sh × (fmvVest − paid) × marginal
arbitrage = sh × (fmvVest − fmvGrant) × (marginal − ltcg)

§83(a) taxes each vest at vest-date FMV; §83(b) fixes ordinary income at grant and starts the capital clock. Since TD 9779 no copy attaches to the return — the filed election + timely-mailing proof is the evidence object. Deliberate-NO: RSUs cannot take §83(b) — no property transfers at grant. Full-vest modeling flagged (real grants tax per tranche).

Election suitability — liquidity for the tax, forfeiture odds, valuation support — the CPA signs it.

E-V2 · ISO exercise / AMT preview routed · CPA · VST.pos.002

ISO shares exerciseddefault

Strike ($)default

409A FMV ($)default

Bargain element — the §56(b)(3) AMT preference (Form 6251 line 2m)—

Hold branch — modeled AMT exposure at 26–28% (prepayment: Form 8801 credit later)—

Disqualify branch — sell this year: ordinary on the spread, no AMT preference—

TY2026 parameters — exemption $140,200 MFJ · phaseout from $1M AMTI at 50% · effective ≈42% in the bandregistry · verified 2026-07-09

Show the math & law

spread = sh × (fmv409A − strike) · amtExposure ≈ spread × 26–28% · disqualify = spread × marginal
§421(a): no regular income on exercise-and-hold; §56(b)(3) puts the spread in AMTI. OBBBA §70107 (TY2026): exemption $90,100/$140,200; phaseout $500K/$1M at 50¢ per dollar (gone by ~$680K/~$1.28M); rates 26%/28%, break $244,500. §422(d) $100K first-exercisable limit; §422(a) 2-yr/1-yr holding for the LTCG prize. The AMT-free share count is a Form 6251 model against the whole return — never computed here. Evidence: Form 3921 (VST.evid.002).

Exercise plan — count, year, disqualify-or-hold — is the CPA’s model. This panel prices both branches; it never picks one.

E-V3 · NSO exercise — the common grant, priced plainly routed · CPA · VST.pos.003

NSO shares exerciseddefault

Strike ($)default

FMV at exercise ($)default

Ordinary income at exercise — §83(a), W-2 wages, withholding + FICA apply—

Basis after exercise = FMV · capital clock starts at exercise—

The trap, stated: exercise-and-hold buys nothing tax-wise — the ordinary hit already landed; the hold only adds market risk on after-tax moneyboth branches · neither recommended

Withholding shortfall — supplemental rates often trail the real marginalsafe-harbor lane coordinates

Show the math & law

nsoOrdinary = sh × (fmv − strike) × marginal · basis = fmv × sh
§83(a) ordinary at exercise; no AMT preference — the spread is regular income. Contractor grants: 1099-NEC character instead of W-2. Evidence: exercise confirmation + wage reporting (VST.evid.003). RSUs remain the deliberate-NO for §83(b); they tax at settlement — stated, not modeled.

Exercise count and year are the CPA’s model against the whole return — this card prices the event; it never schedules it.

QSBS / §1045 — lives on the Markets desk

If the issuer is a C corporation at original issue under the $75M gross-asset test, the §1202 exclusion tiers (post-OBBBA 50/75/100% at 3/4/5 years, $15M/10× cap) and §1045 rollovers apply — computed on the Markets desk’s gains layer, nowhere else (second-engine prevention, locked). This card is a pointer, not an engine.

Household credits & education

Credits are dollar-for-dollar — and every one of them has a cliff. The cliffs render beside the credits, because a Roth conversion or a good year can silently claw these back.

Child tax credit — §24

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2 children × $2,200 (OBBBA; $1,700 refundable portion). Phase-out begins at $400K MFJ MAGI — — of headroom at current inputs. SSN required per child.

Gated for CPA review

As of —

Dependent care — §21

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One qualifying child under 13. 20% rate at this AGI (OBBBA band reaches 50% at low AGI — rate table = registry row). Provider EIN + receipts are the evidence.

Gated for CPA review

529 — the OBBBA window

$20,000/yr K-12

K-12 distributions doubled from 2026; credentialing/licensure costs now qualify. Texas honesty line: no state income tax, so no state-deduction angle — the lever here is tax-free growth and the K-12 window only. 529 and §25A can't claim the same dollars.

Routed · plan & beneficiary design — CPA

Shown, not triggered

AOTC / Lifetime Learning §25Aoff — no post-secondary yet

Trump accounts (births 2025–2028)off — children predate window

Adoption credit §23off — no event

Off-cards stay on the board so the reviewer sees what was considered — and so the flip is one fact away, not one discovery away.

The cliff map — live (why MAGI is the master input)

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$200K auto $242.5K Roth $300K tips/OT $400K CTC

CTC phase-out begins$400,000 MFJ

Auto-loan interest phases$200K → $250K

Roth direct band$242.5K → $252.5K

Tips / OT deductions phase$300,000 MFJ

Every lever that raises MAGI — conversions, harvested gains, a strong Q4 — renders its cliff interactions as counterweights. Nothing moves in isolation here.

Deduction stack — standard vs itemized

One decision per year, priced both ways. The 2026 charitable walls — the 0.5%-AGI floor and the 35%-bracket benefit cap — changed the bunching math; the floor cost renders inside the bunch, not under it.

SALT paid ($)default

Mortgage interest ($)default

Charitable gifts ($)default

Medical costs ($)default

Standard — TY2026

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Rev. Proc. 2025-32, verified. Pairs with the $2,000 non-itemizer charitable deduction — which itemizing forfeits.

As of —

Itemized at inputs

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The call

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Itemize posture — the CPA signs the year

Bunching — two years, priced honestly

Annual giving, two standard years (non-itemizer $2K each)—

Bunched: both years' gifts in year one via DAF—

Two-year delta—

The 0.5%-AGI floor is charged in the bunched year, and the 35%-bracket cap limits the benefit rate — both are 2026 law (OBBBA); the exact §70425-lane figures render from the registry before any dollar hardens. DAF gifts don't count toward the non-itemizer $2K.

Routed · bunching cycle — CPA

The math, shown

Itemized: min(SALT, $40,400) + mortgage interest + max(0, gifts − 0.5% × AGI) + max(0, medical − 7.5% × AGI).
Statutes: §63 · §164(b)(6) (cap per registry, computed-verify) · §163(h) · §170(p) + OBBBA floor/cap · §213.

Charitable lane — bunching & the DAF

Post-TCJA, steady giving often dies inside the standard deduction. The engine prices the same generosity two ways — every year vs. bunched through a donor-advised fund — and shows both branches, skip-year loss included. How much to give is never the desk’s call; how to time it routes to the CPA.

The bunching pair routed · CPA · GWP.pos.003

Annual giving ($)default

Other itemized ($)default

Standard deduction ($)default

Give every year — deduction beats standard by—

Bunch 2 years into 1 (via DAF) — bunch-year win—

Skip-year honestly rendered — standard deduction, giving already granted from the DAF$0 itemized benefit · by design

Two-year delta, at marginal—

Show the math & law

annual = 2×max(oth+give−std,0)×m · bunch = (max(oth+2×give−std,0)+max(oth−std,0))×m
The DAF decouples the deduction year from the grant years — the charity’s cash flow doesn’t change; the household’s threshold math does. AGI ceilings are config: 60% cash / 30% appreciated, 5-yr carryforward (§170(b)/(d)).

The appreciated-stock lever & the evidence law

Gift long-term appreciated stock — deduct FMV and the embedded gain never landsthe double play · routed

Cross-desk collision — the harvest engine and the gift lever must never touch the same lotMarkets ↔ here · priced once

Evidence: written acknowledgment ≥$250 · Form 8283 >$500 noncash · qualified appraisal >$5,000GWP.evid.004

No acknowledgment = no deduction — Durden, rendered plainlyevidence-gated

QCD (age 70½+ IRA-to-charity) — noted, routed, not modeled on this fixturepointer

The giving posture — pattern, lot selection, ceilings — is the CPA’s signature. The desk prices both patterns; it never picks one.

Gains & harvest

Losses are timed, not found — and the wash-sale wall renders before the harvest does. The 0% bracket's mirror twin (gain harvesting) shows as the lane it is.

Unrealized losses ($)default

Realized gains YTD ($)default

LTCG rate %default

Harvest effect at inputs

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Gated for CPA review

The wash-sale wall — §1091

±30 days

Both sides of the sale; substantially identical; spouse and IRA purchases count. The replacement-security memo is the evidence object; the wash+30d clock is a derived calendar item per sale. "Substantially identical" is the routed call.

Routed · replacement identity — CPA

The mirror twin — 0% gain harvesting

0% band

Low-income years (sabbatical, retirement-gap) can realize gains at 0% and re-establish basis — no wash rule on gains. The band top renders from the registry only; no figure hardens until the D19 row exists.

Routed · CPA

Shown, not triggered

§121 home-sale exclusion ($500K MFJ, 2-of-5)off — not selling

QCD §408(d)(8) — 70½+ IRA-direct givingoff — age

Crypto lot accountingrouted — vault lane

The §121 card carries the cross-check: home-office depreciation claimed on the business desk is unrecaptured §1250 carved out of §121 at sale. One house, two desks, one truth.

Basis & the long game

Step-up at death · gifting · trustsEstate workstation

Carryforward of unused lossesindefinite

Losses net against gains, then $3,000 against ordinary income, then carry forward. Holding appreciated assets to step-up versus harvesting is an estate-lane decision — routed, with the pointer.

Safe harbor — §6654

The cheapest tax move in the file: don't pay the penalty. Over $150K AGI the harbor is 110% of last year's tax; the schedule below is derived from it, never typed.

Prior-year total tax ($)default

Paid in YTD ($)default

Harbor requirement

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110% × prior-year tax (AGI > $150K). The prior return is the evidence object — seeded verified in this demo, labeled as such.

As of —

Shortfall at inputs

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Per remaining quarter

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Split across Q3 (Sep 15) and Q4 (Jan 15) — the dates are on the calendar. Annualized-income method (Form 2210 Sch AI) is the routed alternative for lumpy years.

Method — the CPA signs

Household map

Who files what, which account sits in which tax pocket, and where the two desks meet.

Every line is a pointer with an owner. The business desk never re-renders on this side; the estate lane never renders here at all.

Account ledger

Every account sits in a tax pocket. Moves between pockets are the levers on this desk; each carries its paper.

Account	Pocket	This year's move	Paper	State

Instrument items carry stable IDs and live in the same registry the console reads. Client files propose; the console verifies.

Evidence vault

Levers stay modeled until their object exists. The one verified item below is seeded for the demo and labeled as such.

Evidence object	Feeds	Lane	State

Audit-defense file

Prepared, never promised. What the examiner would ask for, staged before anyone asks.

Position	Authority	The file	State

Posture: contemporaneous over reconstructed, everywhere. Receipts at gift time (§170(f)(8) contemporaneous written acknowledgment), Form 8606 basis history unbroken, wash-window trade confirms retained, provider EINs on file.

Compliance calendar

Derived from the levers above — the dates exist because the items do.

Date / rule	What	Why it exists

AI aide

Questions route to the module and the professional lane that owns them. The aide never renders a position.

"Should we do a Roth conversion this year?"

The Roth lane models the arbitrage at your inputs and renders the counterweights — IRMAA, the CTC cliff, the auto-loan phase. Whether to convert, and how much, is the CPA's call with the year's full picture. → Roth & IRA lane.

"Why don't we get the tips deduction?"

The sweep shows it with the reason: it applies to listed tipped occupations reported on a W-2/1099, and it phases out at $300K MFJ. The off-card is the answer. → Personal sweep.

"Can I sell the losers and buy them right back?"

§1091 says not within 30 days either side — and buying in your IRA or your spouse's account counts. The harvest card computes the effect with the wall attached; the replacement's identity is the routed call. → Gains & harvest.

"What happens to all this when we're gone?"

Basis step-up, gifting, and trusts are the estate workstation's lane — this desk renders the pointer and nothing more. → Household map.