Exam 11: Investments

One primary difference between corporate and U.S. Treasury bonds is:

Kerri, a single taxpayer who itemizes deductions on Schedule A, incurs $15,000 of interest expense on funds borrowed to acquire taxable bonds. Kerri also has $20,000 of taxable interest income for the year. Assume Kerri is in a 30% marginal tax bracket. How much of the interest expense can she deduct? Assuming the same facts except that the $20,000 of investment income is a qualifying dividend rather than taxable interest income, what should Kerry do if she wants to minimize her current year tax liability?

Describe the three main loss limitations that taxpayers must overcome before deducting losses allocated to them from a specific activity.

With tax-exempt investment income, an investor's before-tax rate of return is greater than her after-tax rate of return.

Phil and Emily Brooks have three sons, Jason, 16, Tom, 12, and Adam, 10. They create a Colorado 529 plan for each of their sons by investing $10,000 in three different plans. Each of these investments yields a constant return of 6.5 percent. When they turned 18, Jason and Adam withdrew the funds in their 529 plans and used the money for higher education expenses while Tom withdrew the funds in his 529 plan to start a new business. Assuming that each of the sons have a 15 percent marginal tax rate when they turn 18, how much money will each of the three boys have after paying all applicable taxes due? (Round all interim and final calculations to the nearest whole number)

When electing to include long-term capital gains and qualified dividends in net investment income, taxpayers must include all long-term capital gains and dividends recognized for that year.

Michelle is an active participant in the rental condominium property she owns. During the year, the property generates a ($15,000) loss; however, Michelle has sufficient tax basis and at-risk amounts to absorb the loss. If Michelle has $115,000 of salary, $10,000 of long-term capital gains, $3,000 of dividends, and no additional sources of income or deductions, how much loss can Michelle deduct?

Bob Brain files a single tax return and decides to itemize his deductions. Bob's income for the year consists of $75,000 of salary, $3,000 long-term capital gain, and $1,500 interest income. Bob's expenses for the year consists of $800 investment advice fees, $700 unreimbursed employee business expenses (a miscellaneous itemized deduction), and $250 tax return preparation fees. What is Bob's actual deduction for miscellaneous itemized deductions?

Judy, a single individual, reports the following items of income and loss: Salary $\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\$ 120,000$ Loss from rental property $\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad( \mathbf { 4 0 , 0 0 0 } )$ Judy owns 100% of the rental property and actively participates in the rental of the property. Calculate Judy's AGI.

A taxpayer's at-risk amount in an activity is increased by:

What impact does an investment time horizon have on the after-tax returns from a portfolio producing interest and dividend income annually?

The Crane family recognized the following types of investment income during 20X6: (1) $1,500 qualified dividends, (2) $3,000 long-term capital gains, and (3) $850 taxable interest. Additionally, the Crane family has $500 in investment expenses and their other miscellaneous itemized deductions exceed 2% of their AGI for the year. The Crane family paid $3,333 in investment interest expense during 20X6. What is the best option for the Crane family if they want to maximize their deduction in 20X6 for investment interest expense? Show all possibilities.

What is the correct order of the loss limitation rules?

Kevin has the option of investing in a municipal bond that provides a 4.5 percent return or a taxable bond that provides a 7 percent return. Assuming Kevin's marginal tax rate is 35 percent, what investment should he choose and why?

What rate should be used when calculating the after-tax future value of investments with a constant rate of return that is taxed annually?

To qualify under the passive activity rental real estate exception, the taxpayer must (1) own at least 15 percent of the property and (2) participate in the process of making management decisions.

What explicit tax rate would keep Jason indifferent between purchasing a municipal bond with a 3.0 percent return and a taxable bond with a 4.5 percent before-tax return? (Round your answer to the nearest percent)

Roy, a resident of Michigan, owns 25 percent of a fourplex in the nearby college town of Ann Arbor with three other friends. The fourplex is rented to students who attend the University of Michigan. Roy's responsibility is to approve new tenants each year and take care of any maintenance issues. During the year, the rental property generated a $25,000 loss which was split equally among Roy and his three friends. Assuming Roy's only source of income was $145,000 of salary, how much of the rental loss can Roy deduct this year and what amount must be carried forward?

In X8, Erin had the following capital gains (losses) from the sale of her investments: $2,000 LTCG, $25,000 STCG, ($9,000) LTCL, and ($15,000) STCL. What is the amount and nature of Erin's capital gains and losses?

Passive losses that exceed passive income are deferred until the taxpayer generates passive income to offset these passive losses.