Taxation Section

The Taxation Section provides current information on federal and state tax issues that directly affect practitioners in Washington. It gives new attorneys with an interest in tax law an opportunity to meet and discuss mutual areas of concern with established practitioners. The Section assists in proposing and commenting on legislation and administrative rules affecting federal and state tax practice.

Through its website, list serve, and events throughout the year, the Taxation Section provides practical, up-to-date information regarding the Section's committees, activities, and other tax resources.

In accordance with the Section's bylaws, and with the exception of law students, an individual must be an active member of the Bar to join the Taxation Section.

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The Taxation Section offers many resources and benefits for members. On this page you will find information about the section, their upcoming events and offerings, as well as information about the sections executive committee.

Upcoming Programs

Application Portal for Executive Committee Elections Open!

Election season is here! If you are interested in applying to serve on your section's executive committee, head over to the Taxation Section Election Page to see a list of open positions and how to apply.

If you have any questions, please email sections@wsba.org.

2025 WSBA Taxation Section LL.M. Taxation Scholarship Announcement!

The Washington State Bar Association Taxation Section is pleased to announce its annual $5,000 LL.M. Tax scholarship. Eligible applicants are those who have been accepted by, and plan to attend, a Tax LL.M. program in 2025-2026 at an accredited United States law school.

The scholarship committee will evaluate the following factors in awarding the scholarship: (a) academic record; (b) the demonstrated intent to become an active member of the WSBA Taxation Section upon completion of their tax LL.M.; and (c) financial need for the scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded in May/June 2025.

Scholarship Application

Applicants may apply for the scholarship by sending their application materials to Jennifer Gellner by email at jennifer@gellner-law.com. Applications must be received not later than May 1, 2025.

The application consists of the following items:

• Resume, including name, address, phone number, email address, name of law school and graduation date;
• Acceptance letter from an LL.M. tax program;
• Law school transcript; and
• Written explanation not to exceed 2 double spaced pages, addressing
  1. Commitment to practice law in Washington State;
  2. Reasons for pursuing an LL.M.; and
  3. Financial need for the scholarship.

Please submit your application materials to Jennifer Gellner no later than May 1, 2025.

Please note that those related to members of the Tax Section Executive Committee are not eligible for the scholarship.

NEW In-Person and Virtual! International Tax Conference 2025

Register Now for In-Person or Virtual!

Join the Washington Society of CPAs (WSCPA) at the 2025 International Tax Conference - the premier event for global tax professionals! Dive into comprehensive sessions covering critical topics such as Canada/US tax law, the latest updates on foreign trust regulations, and effective planning strategies with US trustees. Benefit from expert insights on Subpart F and GILTI, Form 5471, inbound and outbound real estate, and detailed case studies tackling complex scenarios like 338(g) elections and the Permanent Establishment (PE) vs. Effectively Connected Income (ECI) debate. Stay ahead of emerging trends with discussions on state and local tax issues, international tax considerations, and the latest expat planning strategies.

Promo Code: Use code INTC100 to get $100 off the nonmember price (in-person or webcast).

Where: W Bellevue Hotel, 10455 NE Fifth Place, Bellevue, WA 98004

When: May 15, 2025

Time: 8 a.m.–5 p.m. PDT

Credits: 8.50 Law & Legal Procedure; 8 CPE Credits

Follow the links to register or for more information on In-Person or Virtual!

Questions?
Please contact WSCPA at memberservices@wscpa.org or call their main line at 425.644.4800.

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DEI Committee

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Page

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Paths Mentorship Program

Paths Mentorship Program Page

The Taxation Section Paths Mentorship Program is now accepting mentors!

Sign up now if you are interested in mentoring new and young tax attorneys. For more information, visit the Paths Mentorship Program page.

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WSBA Taxation Section Scholarship Committee

Beginning in 2000, the Washington State Bar Association Taxation Section has been awarding $5,000 in a scholarship each year to an eligible applicant, which are those who have been accepted by, and plan to attend, a Tax L.L.M. program in the following academic year at an accredited United States law school.

The scholarship committee evaluates the following factors in awarding the scholarship: (a) academic record; (b) the demonstrated intent to become an active member of the WSBA Taxation Section upon completion of tax L.L.M.; and (c) financial need for the scholarship.

If you have any interest in joining the Scholarship Committee, please email the current Scholarship Chair, Jennifer Gellner, at jennifer@gellnerlaw.com.

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Members Only

Not a member of the Taxation Section? Here's what you're missing!

• Regular blog posts by members of the Taxation Section Executive Committee and members at-large.
• Listing of slide decks from the Taxation Section CLEs.
• Access to the Taxation Section's Newsletter — Taxation News.

To access all the great content offered by the Taxation Section, Join the Section today!

For current members: the Taxation Section will be adding new things to their Members Only section as the year progresses, so check back often for news of the latest new offerings.

Go to the Members Only pages.

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CLE Recordings

Antio v. Department of Revenue: A Significant Tax Case with Far-Reaching Implications (posted with permission by Brett Durbin and Aaron C. Johnson, Lane Powell PC, Seattle, WA) Webinar recorded Dec. 12, 2024.

PLEASE NOTE: You will not receive CLE credit for watching this video.

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Volunteer Opportunities

The Federal Tax Clinic is very fortunate to have volunteer attorneys assist low-income clinic clients with disputes with the IRS. In addition to this help, volunteer attorneys have also assisted us recently in the following ways.

Ryan Cooper and Alison Warden came to our Tax Clinic class on March 3 to tell the students about their careers.

Bernie Botz and Mona Vaddiraju assisted Tax Clinic students with tax presentations to the community this past quarter.

Teague Pasco, Jennifer Gellner, Kristi Richards, Mel Matias and Cat Connell were present to assist taxpayers at the March 17 Tax Court calendar call.

John Clynch, Staff Attorney for the Federal Tax Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law, is looking for volunteer attorneys to help with the U.S. Tax Court Calendar on Monday, March 17, 2025. This is the calendar call for cases to be heard that week, and the clinic is there to assist pro se taxpayers with advice on their case. We volunteer attorneys do not represent them but look at their case and give them advice. We may then talk to the IRS attorney with the taxpayer to see if a settlement can be reached. If yes, then that is great. If no, then the taxpayer would go to trial, but your involvement would end. We are asking volunteers to show up at 9 a.m. in case taxpayers show up before the 10 a.m. calendar call. The U.S. Tax Court is located in the Nakamura Federal Courthouse in downtown Seattle on 5th and Madison. Your involvement would likely not last beyond noon. If you are interested and/or have any questions, please contact John Clynch at 206-616.6266 or clyncher@uw.edu.

In addition to taking on a case, Volunteer Attorneys have the following one-time opportunities via the UW Federal Tax Clinic:

• Assist at Tax Court. The Tax Court Calendar is May 6. You can volunteer to assist a pro se taxpayer trying to resolve their Tax Court case with the IRS. The Federal Tax Clinic is looking for volunteer tax attorneys, enrolled agents, and CPAs to assist pro se taxpayers who are appearing at U.S. Tax Court on Feb. 1 at Courtroom 4, Nakamura, U.S. Courthouse, 1010 Fifth Ave., Seattle. These are taxpayers that have their trial set for that week and may be seeking advice.  The volunteer will not be representing the taxpayer but can answer questions that the taxpayer may have.  Ramon Ortiz-Velez and John Clynch from UW’s Low Income Tax Clinic (“LITC”) will be there.  They are asking for volunteers to show up at 9 a.m. The calendar call takes place at 10 a.m. For most, the time commitment will be about two hours. If you can participate, or want to ask questions about it, please contact John Clynch, Staff Attorney at the Federal Tax Clinic, at 206-616-6266 or clyncher@uw.edu. Volunteers who are not currently enrolled with the LITC as a volunteer should have their own malpractice insurance coverage. Coverage under the University of Washington’s malpractice insurance is restricted to those attorneys that are currently handling cases at the LITC. 
  Thank you to Jen Niedo, Monica Langeldt, Paul Barrera and Todd DeVelance for volunteering for the Feb. 12 calendar call!
• Assist Students with Presentations. Each quarter the students in the LITC give presentations to community organizations to educate taxpayers on issues they may face. Many of these presentations entail the basics of tax return preparation such as how to file a tax return, what are the applicable credits, deductions, a schedule C, etc.  Up to five students per presentation put together the PowerPoint. The LITC would love to have one to two volunteer tax attorneys, enrolled agents, and/or CPAs attend the presentation with them to fill in areas that may have been missed or to add additional thoughts to the presentation. The presentation may be on site or via zoom.  The length of the presentation is typically a half-hour to one hour with questions afterwards. If you would like to participate, please let me know. 
  Thank you to Jen Niedo, Janae Camacho and CJ Singh for volunteering this quarter!
• Represent a Clinic Client. If you are interested in representing a clinic client, the LITC would love your involvement. Volunteers are asked to start with one case. There is onboarding involved as the LITC uses CLIO software to manage client cases. You will first be trained on how to use CLIO. Once that is complete you will then select a case and the staff at LITC will go over the details of the particular case and will stay involved on an “as needed basis.”  Since the volunteer would be officially enrolled with the LITC the UW malpractice insurance would cover the volunteer for the clinic case. 
  Thank you to Paul Barrera, Bob Boeshaar, Cynthia Chen, Jennifer Gellner, Daniel Goodrich, Tim Greenwood, Bella Li, Cory Melendrez, Chrissy Svihus, Helen Tang, Alaura Valley, May Xu, Jen Niedo, Jason Harn and George Munro who are currently representing clinic clients!
• Tax Return Preparation. If you are interested in preparing tax returns for clinic clients, the LITC would love your involvement here, too. Again, volunteers start with one case due to the various learning curves with volunteering at the LITC.  Similar to representing a LITC client, there is onboarding involved with CLIO software, and, once complete, you will be able to review the tax return that is being proposed for preparation and make a determination on whether this is something you want to do. Since the volunteer would be officially enrolled with the LITC the UW malpractice insurance would cover the volunteer for the clinic case.
  Thank you to Jeannette Nelsen and Kyle Thomas who are currently preparing returns!  

If you can participate in any of the above programs or have questions please contact John Clynch, Staff Attorney at the Federal Tax Clinic, at 206-616-6266 or clyncher@uw.edu.

If you have any questions or would otherwise like to get involved with the Pro Bono Committee, please contact John Clynch at 206-616-6266 or clyncher@uw.edu.

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Taxation Section CLE Slide Decks

Find the most recent CLE slide decks from the Taxation Section.

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Newsletters

Head over to the Newsletters page to see past issues of Taxation News, the Taxation Section Newsletter.

Archived issues are available to section members upon request. To request an issue, please email sections@wsba.org.

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Executive Committee

All positions begin Oct. 1, 2024, and end Sept. 30, 2025, unless otherwise stated.

Committee Chairs

Learn more about the Taxation Section Committees.

Executive Committee Meetings

The WSBA Taxation Section Executive Committee generally conducts meetings on the third Wednesday of each month, Noon-1 p.m. Please contact committee members for specific details on their upcoming meeting dates and locations.

See the Executive Committee Meeting Minutes page for access to the previous meeting minutes.

Join Our List Serve

To join the section list serve and for general section questions, please send your email address and Bar number to sections@wsba.org. For more information and to get involved with the section, please contact section Chair Cat Connell.

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