Income Tax Return Assignment

You have your own CPA tax practice and you are greeted with new clients:  Albert and Jenny Cunningham and their two children.  You meet with them and they give you the information shown below.

NOTE:  Reference to the “current tax year” below for the taxpayers, Albert and Jenny, it is for the calendar year 2013.

Albert and Jenny Cunningham (both 42 years old) are married and have 2 children.  Their son, Michael is 8 and their daughter, Ashley, is 3.  They live at 151 32nd AvenueDenver, CO80222.

The following table summarizes the birthdates, etc. for the family members:

	Social Security Number	Date of Birth
Albert	523-33-3456	May 12
Jenny	454-66-1654	March 15
Michael	523-45-7890	September 16
Ashley	523-50-6423	November 3

 

Jenny sells cosmetics for Maxim Company. Albert is Vice Principal at the local high school and he works independently as a repair/handyman. Their income from their full time jobs is as follows:

	Salary	Federal Tax Withheld	State Tax Withheld
Jenny	$85,000	$10,500	$5,400
Albert	$45,000	$6,100	$3,150

 

NOTE:  the above income is before considering the following items:

Maxim has a cafeteria benefits plan that lets employees select benefits equal to as much as 10% of their annual salary or receive the cash equivalent.  Jenny selects the max of 10% of her salary and chooses dental insurance,  $40,000 in group term life insurance, disability insurance, and company-provided day care. The total cost to Maxim of those benefits is $6,600.  Jenny takes the remaining benefits of $1,900 to which she is entitled in cash.

Because Maxim does not have an employee pension plan, Albert and Jenny each contribute $5,500 to their individual retirement accounts.

The school district gives Albert medical insurance and group term life insurance equal to 100% of his annual salary.  He pays an additional $125 a month to cover Jenny and the children under his medical plan and this is deducted after tax from his salary.

The school district also has a qualified contributory pension plan to which it contributes 5% of Albert’s annual salary.  Albert is required to contribute 3% of his salary. Albert is allowed to make additional contributions of up to 2% of his salary, and he contributes the maximum.

 

In addition to the life insurance coverage provided by their employers. Albert and Jenny purchase $100,000 in whole life insurance on each other, along with a disability insurance policy for Albert. The checkbook analysis table that follows shows the costs that they paid for each of these policies.

Jenny’s Job requires her to travel throughout her five-state region. Maxim has an accountable reimbursement plan from which Jenny receives $8,500 for the following expenses:

Airplane transportation and auto expenses	$4,330
Lodging	2,350
Incidentals	400
Note: She has used her Honda Civic in her work for Maxim Company. During 2013, she properly documented 6,000 business miles of which she was reimbursed in the above amount list. Jenny elects to use the standard mileage method to calculate her car expenses. She spent $45 on tolls and $135 on parking related to her cosmetic sales.

 

In May,Jenny and Albert go to the Gulf Stream Casino with Jenny’s client Beth and her husband. After wagering $320 without winning, Jenny wins $2,600 on the blackjack table. The casino withholds $780 for federal income tax and $260 for Colorado income taxes.

 

Albert hires his students to help him in his summer repair/handyman business. This year, he is able to hire 7 students.  Albert shuttles between sites, supervising the job talking to prospective clients and helping. He treats the students as independent contractors. His business generates the following income and expenses.

Revenues	$112,000
Supplies	33,100
Other material	6,100
Insurance	5,100
Payments to student help	48,400

 

During the year, Albert and Jenny receive the following portfolio income:

Interest on savings accounts**	$2,030
Interest on U.S. Treasury bills	400
Qualified Cash Dividends on Johnson Stock	1,750
Interest on city of Denver bonds	600
Interest on New Hampshire government bonds	400

**Note:  $180 of the $2,030 of interest earned from savings was from Albert’s Business Savings Account that he maintained for his repair/handyman business.

 

Albert and Jenny own 3,000 shares of Sampson Corporation stock that they purchased ten years ago on June 30, for $37,000.  Early in the current tax year on February 1, they sell all the shares for $16,800.  Note:  The basis of the stock was not reported to the IRS.

Albert and Jenny also sell 100 shares of Johnson Corporation stock for $6,200 on December 1.  They purchased the stock six months earlier on June 1 for $2,700.  The cost basis upon the sale was reported to the IRS.   The couple also sells  250 shares of Mason Corporation for $4,100 on October 23, cost basis $11,350 (purchased five years earlier on July 13).  The cost basis upon sale was not reported to the IRS.

 

Albert and Jenny own a 4% investment interest in a limited partnership, BDK Partnership, Federal ID 84-5313212. The limited partnership reports the following information to them.

Ordinary loss	$2,100
Long-term capital gain	600
Charitable Contribution	300
Cash distribution	2,400

 

During the year, the family spends 20 days at its summer vacation home in Buena Vista, Colorado; they rent it to vacationers for 80 days. Information pertaining to the summer vacation home is as follows:

Rental Income	$6,500
Interest on mortgage	4,450
Property taxes	1,600
Management fee	380
Repairs	320
Utilities	650
Insurance	420
Depreciation	7,000

 

One night, while returning home from school, Albert is involved in an automobile accident and is hospitalized for 7 days. He incurs $14,000 in medical expenses. His employer-provided insurance policy reimburses him $11,800 of the costs. In addition, his disability insurance policy pays him $3,200 for time he misses from school.

The car is totally destroyed. It was purchased in ten years ago for $19,500 and Albert finds a similar car selling for $11,000. The insurance company reimburses him $7,500.

An analysis of Jenny and Albert’s checkbook reveals the following payments in the current tax year:

Optometrist	285
Veterinarian	275
Prescription drugs	175
Over-the-counter medicine	320
Chamber of Commerce contribution	150
Contribution to candidate for Congress	500
United Way	260
Mile High Church	750
Vanderbilt University	520
Auto registration on automobiles ($130 of which is a license fee)	390
Tax preparation fee	375
Automobile insurance	$1,700
Homeowners insurance on their primary residence	520
Life Insurance	850
Disability insurance	480
Country club dues	3,600
Health club dues	1,100

 

During the current tax year pertaining to their principal residence, Albert and Jenny take out a $41,000 home equity loan that they use to renovate the home. Interest paid on this loan totals $1,950 during the year. Albert and Jenny purchased their current home a few years ago by paying $25,000 down and signing a $151,000 mortgage note, secured by the home. The home is worth $230,000, and the balance on the original mortgage is $140,000. They pay interest on their home mortgage of $14,700 during the year. They also pay $310 in interest on their personal credit cards and $1,720 in property taxes on their home during 2013.

You should also provide a tax return memorandum showing the following items:  a summary worksheet of the above calculations of income tax and the refund or additional tax due; and a supplemental discussion of the treatment of each item given in the facts of the assignment.  If an item does not affect their taxable income calculation, you should discuss why it does not enter into the computation.  Please address this tax memorandum to your clients:  Albert and Jenny Cunningham.