Exam 5: Deductions for Individuals and Tax Determination

The alternative minimum tax is a tax determined on a broadened definition of income with no deductions permitted.

How is the deductibility of itemized deductions limited in determining taxable income?

Cora, who is single, has $58,000 of salary income, $2,350 in dividends, and $3,800 in interest income. She has $13,200 of itemized deductions. Determine her tax liability for 2018.

To file as a surviving spouse, a taxpayer must maintain a home for a dependent child for the entire year.

Marcia and Tim, a married couple, file a joint return in 2018. Marcia went back to college this year as a full-time graduate student. What is the maximum reduction they can achieve in their taxes for the $6,800 in tuition that Marcia pays if their AGI is $116,000 and the LLC phaseout range is $114,000-$134,000?

All of the following are allowable deductions in determining the alternative minimum tax except:

What is required for a taxpayer to qualify to file as a surviving spouse?

A taxpayer's filing status determines the basic standard deduction allowed.

Up to $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately) of income and real property taxes are deductible for state, local, and foreign real property.

Which of the following is a requirement to file for head of household?

Explain the difference in benefits between a tax deduction and a tax credit?

Stephanie and Cal have three dependent children in college. Sally is a freshman and Teri is a sophomore at a small private college in their town where their expenses are $6,500 per year for each student; Lexi is in her third year of medical school in Wisconsin and her related expenses are $12,500 per year. What is the maximum education credit allowed Stephanie and Cal on their joint tax return if their AGI is $124,000 in 2018 and the LLC phaseout range is $114,000 - $134,000?

Cliff is married and files a joint return. His return shows AGI of $1,268,000 and a net tax liability of $392,259 on taxable income of $1,224,000. He has $30,000 of preference items and $21,000 of net positive adjustments (including adjustments for itemized deductions). The $109,400 exemption begins to phase out at $1 million. What is his AMTI exemption amount?

In 2018, Carol, who is 54 and single, earned a salary of $54,000 and $6,000 of interest on State of Nevada bonds. She contributed $2,000 to her Roth IRA, paid a $12,000 hospital bill, state income taxes of $1,500, real estate taxes of $900, mortgage interest of $4,500, and $2,000 interest on her margin account under which she purchased the bonds. What is Carol's taxable income?

Sean bought a home in 2010 for $625,000 financing $550,000 of the purchase price with a 30 year mortgage. In 2018 when his existing mortgage balance was $520,000, he took out a home equity loan for $150,000. He used the proceeds to pay off credit card debt of $40,000 and purchase a car for $85,000; the balance he used to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend. In 2018 he paid $30,000 interest on the mortgage and paid interest only of $6,600 on the home equity loan. What is his deduction for qualified residential interest for 2018?

Wallace and Clarice (both age 45) have combined salary and wages of $114,900. They each contribute $3,000 to a Roth IRA and take the standard deduction when they file jointly in 2018. If they have a $60,000 preference item and the AMT exemption is $109,400, what is their alternative minimum tax?

Holly and Ken (both age 46) are married and have two children living at home: Sara is 19 and earned $19,000 as a secretary. Claudia is 15 and is in high school. Claudia made $4,200 as a model this year, all of which was put into a trust account except for her manager's fee. Ken made $67,200 as an engineer and Holly earned $7,000 as a substitute teacher. If they have $18,000 of itemized deductions, what is Holly and Ken's tax liability on their joint return in 2018 after any allowable credits?

Who are qualifying relatives for the dependency exemption that was allowed prior to 2018? When will this deduction be reinstated?

Emma purchased investment land in 2012 for $46,000. At the end of 2017, she was approached by the local Girl Scout organization in which she had been an active troop leader, about donating the land for a summer camp site. Emma agreed and deeded the land to the Girl Scouts for their camp in February 2018. The fair market value of the land at the end of 2017 was $55,000 and in February 2018 was $56,000. Emma's adjusted gross income was $100,000 for 2017 and $110,000 for 2018. Emma expects her AGI to decrease to $10,000 in 2019 because most of her future retirement income will be from tax-exempt sources. What is the maximum amount Emma can deduct for 2018 if this is her only itemized deduction?

What is the purpose of the Health Savings Account?