accounting-TAX 4001 Summer A 2015 Tax Return Assignment
Ace your studies with our custom writing services! We've got your back for top grades and timely submissions, so you can say goodbye to the stress. Trust us to get you there!
Order a Similar Paper Order a Different Paper
TAX 4001 Summer A 2015 Tax Return
Assignment
Due date: Tuesday 11/24/2015at the School of Accounting
Facts:
Charles
F. and Heather M. Schneider are married and live at 9520 SW 18 Street Rockville,
MD 20847. They file a joint return and are calendar year, cash basis taxpayers.
1. Charles is a self-employed
accountant (professional activity code is 541213). He maintains an office at 8450
Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda, MD 20810. He shares the suite with several other
professionals and has no employees. A receptionist handles all calls and is
provided by the landlord as part of the services offered to tenants. Charles’s
work-related expenses for 2014 are as follows:
Office rent $9,800
Utilities 3,000
Accounting services 1,200
Office expenses (supplies, use of copier, etc.) 1,100
Legal services (see item 9. below) 300
State and local license fees 900
Renter’s insurance (covers personal liability,
casualty, theft) 1,500
Replacement of reception room furnishings (6/5/2014) 2,200
Professional dues and subscriptions to trade
publications 600
Business lunches 1,400
Contribution to H.R. 10 (Keogh) plan
5,000
Medical insurance premiums 7,000
The business meals Charles paid
for were to entertain various visiting executives from the clients he does
business with. As is the case with all of Charles’s business transactions, the
lunches are properly documented and supported by receipts. Because the reception room furnishings were
looking shabby, Charles and his suite-mates had them replaced. The $2,200 Charles spent was his share (i.e.,
a sofa and coffee table) of the cost. Charles
follows a policy of avoiding depreciation by utilizing the Section 179 election
to expense assets. All of Charles’s
office equipment (e.g., desk, chairs, file cabinets, computer, etc.) has
previously been expensed. Of 16,000
total miles in 2014, Charles drives his car (a Ford Explorer purchased on
6/1/2012) 8,400 miles for business (not including commuting) and has business
parking and toll charges of $310. The Schneiders
use the automatic mileage method of claiming automobile expenses.
2. Heather is an occupational therapist employed
on a part-time basis by Thompson Consultants, Inc. Her employer does not
provide her with an office, and she has no separate office in her home. She does, however, maintain her business
records at home and lists it as her business address. After receiving her assignments by phone, she
drives her car Mazda 626 (purchased on
7/1/2009 directly to the residence of the patient. Therapy Consultants, Inc. requires all of its
therapists to wear uniforms while on duty.
As Heather is not a full-time employee, she is not covered by her
employer’s health or retirement plans. Heather’s
work-related expenses for 2014 appear below:
Mileage (total miles in 2014 = 12,000) 8,000 miles
Professional
dues and subscriptions $1,280
Continuing
education programs (required to
maintain license) 440
Annual
license fee 180
Therapy
supplies 260
Uniforms
purchased (including $240 for shoes) 410
Laundering
of uniforms 210
3.
At
a foreclosure sale on May 8, 2014, the Schneiders purchased a house to be held
as a rental investment. The property
cost $400,000 (of which $50,000 is allocated to the land) and is located at 1511
Rockville Rd, Rockville, MD 20850. After
making minor repairs and placing the property in service on June 1, the Schneiders
were fortunate in that they were able to rent it immediately for $2,650 a month
(payable on the first of each month).
Information regarding the rental property for 2014 is summarized below:
Rent received ($2,650 x 8 months) $21,200
Refundable
damage deposit 4,000
Property
taxes 1,800
Interest
on mortgage 1,500
Repairs 400
Insurance 2,500
Street
paving assessment 3,500
Although the property was rented
for only seven months, in late December 2014 the tenants prepaid the January 2015
rent because they were going to be out of town on New Year’s Day. The special assessment was levied by the city
of Bethesda to resurface the street in front of the house. The Schneiders plan to use MACRS
straight-line depreciation, assuming the mid-month convention.
4.
On
her birthday on June 27, 2004, Heather received as a gift from her father
unimproved land located in Dumas County (TN).
The land cost her father $80,000 in 1975 and had a value of $205,000 on
the date of the gift. No gift tax was
due as a result of the transfer. On July
15, 2014, Heather sold the land to an adjoining property owner for $320,000. She
incurred $28,200 in selling costs.
5.
When
Heather’s father died in 2010, he had a life insurance policy issued by John
Hancock Insurance Company with a maturity value of $1,000,000. As the designated beneficiary of the policy, Heather
picked a settlement option of $215,000 annually, payable over five years. In 2014, she received a check from John
Hancock for $215,000.
6.
Based
on a tip from a friend who is an investment adviser, on November 6, 2012, Charles
purchased 15,000 shares of common stock in Turner Corporation for $14,000, a
manufacturer of bicycle shocks, was experiencing financial difficulties and was
contemplating bankruptcy. Nevertheless,
the adviser was sure that its liquidation value would far exceed the cost of
the stock. Turner went into receivership
in early 2014. On August 15, 2014 the receiver indicated that investors could
expect to receive $.20 on the dollar in the following year.
7.
In
2013, a hit-and-run driver damaged Charles’s Ford while it was parked in front
of his office. Charles’s insurance
carrier, State Farm Insurance Company, paid the cost of repairing the vehicle,
but he was charged $2,000 under the deductible provision. In 2014, the authorities located the driver
who caused the accident, and State Farm recovered on the loss. As a result, in February 2014 Peregrine
reimbursed Charles for the $2,000 deductible.
The Schneiders itemized when they filed the 2013 income tax return, and
claimed a $1,400 deduction for this casualty loss.
8.
In
2014 Heather was involved in an auto accident and received physical injuries
due being hit by a drunk driver. She received $60,000 in damage payments which
included $35,000 in punitive damages)
9.
Charles
has a 25% ownership in Gessum Company EIN 13-333333, an 1120S corporation. In
2014 Gessum Company recorded gross receipts of $300,000, Cost of Goods sold of
$90,000 and other expenses of $140,000. Charles made cash withdrawals during
the year totaling $40,000.
10.Besides those previously noted,
the Schneider’s had the following receipts for 2014:
Payment for services
rendered as an accountant
(as supported on Forms 1099 issued by several
payor client companies) $80,000
Therapist wages
(Form W-2 issued by Therapy Consultant’s Inc.
$42,000
A vacation package $ 8,500
Income tax refunds
for tax year 2013
Federal tax $1,400
State tax 450
$1,850
Interest income–
City of Bethesda bonds $1,800
Interest on SunTrust Bank CD 3,600 $5,400
Estate sale
$13,600
Loan repayment
$20,000
The
vacation package was a Christmas surprise from a former client as a way of expressing
thanks for the accounting work Charles had done.
The estate sale (Note: an estate sale
is like an upscale garage sale) involved mostly items Heather inherited from
her father (e.g., boat and trailer, camper, hunting and fishing
equipment). Heather has no proof as to
the cost of these assets, nor does she know their value at the time of his death
(assume that all assets declined in value when comparing inherited value to
proceeds from sale of each item).
Three years ago, Charles had loaned a
friend, Michael, $15,000 to help start a business. No note was signed, no interest was provided
for, and no due date was specified. Much
to Charles’s surprise, Michael repaid the loan at $20,000 in late 2014.
10. In addition to any items previously noted,
the Schneiders had the following expenses for 2014:
Medical
and dental expenses not covered by
Insurance $8,000
Ad valorem property tax on personal
residence 3,800
Interest—
Home mortgage $3,800
Interest on home equity loan 1,400 5,200
Charitable contributions 4,000
Tax return preparation fee (60% relates to
Charles’s
business) 600
Of the $8,000 in medical expenses, $5,000
was used to pay for Nancy Schneider’s cosmetic surgery to smooth over her
facial wrinkes. Nancy is Charles’s
mother who lives with them and would otherwise qualify as their dependent
except for the gross income test.
During 2014, Heather borrowed
$20,000 under a home equity loan arrangement.
The money was used to help pay family credit card debt and to purchase
jet skis for the family to enjoy on weekends.
11.Besides Nancy, the Schneider’s’
household includes their three children:
Bo (age 17), Judy (age 16), and John (age 14). All are full-time students. Bo is very proficient with the bagpipes and
during the year earned $4,400 playing at special occasions (i.e., mainly
funerals). Bo is saving his earnings for
college.
12.
Heather’s
Form W-2 from Tompson Consultants, Inc. shows $2,000 withheld for Federal
income tax and $941 for state income tax.
Charles made equal quarterly payments of $2,600 (Federal) and $500
(state). Relevant Social Security
numbers are noted below.
Social Security
Name Number Birth
Date
Charles
L. Schneider 123-45-6789 07/01/1967
Heather
S. Schneider 123-45-6782 02/20/1968
Bo
Schneider 123-45-6788 04/09/1997
Judy
Schneider 123-45-6783 12/06/1998
John
Schneider 123-45-6781 07/29/2000
Nancy
Schneider 111-11-1111 01/03/1939
REQUIREMENTS
Prepare
an income tax return by hand in blue
pen (no tax software) with appropriate schedules that can be found at the IRS
website (irs.gov) for the Schneiders for 2014.
In doing this, use the following guidelines:
·
Make
necessary assumptions for information not given in the problem but needed to
complete the return. Be aware of the
possible application of certain tax credits.
·
The
taxpayers have the necessary substantiation (e.g., records, receipts) to
support the transactions involved.
·
If
a refund results, the taxpayers want it sent to them.
·
The
Schneiders do not wish to contribute to the Presidential Election Campaign
fund.
·
In
the past several years, the Schneiders have itemized their deductions from AGI (have not claimed the standard
deduction option).
Due date: The Tax Return
Assignment Due on Tuesday 11/24/2015 by 4:30PM to be turned in to the
School of Accounting and given to secretary.
·
Please
make sure that you sign the log in sheet there.
·
Don’t
forget to use a cover page and put your name on the assignment.
·
Staple
all pages including how you reached an amount if not obvious with backup
supporting calculations referenced to the Tax Schedule and information # (i.e.1-12)
on the assignment.
·
Maintain
a copy of the project for yourself
Looking for top-notch essay writing services? We've got you covered! Connect with our writing experts today. Placing your order is easy, taking less than 5 minutes. Click below to get started.
Order a Similar Paper Order a Different Paper