Exam 5: Gross Income and Exclusions

The tax law includes a complex set of restrictions called the anti-frontloading rules to make it difficult for taxpayers to disguise property payments as alimony payments.

U.S. citizens generally are subject to tax on all income whether it is generated in the United States or in foreign countries.

This year Joseph joined the board of directors. Besides his director's fees, Joseph received the following employee benefits: Salary \2 04,000 Contributions to qualified pension plan 25,000 Qualified health insurance premiums 8,000 Stock bonus 20,000 Annual director's fee 15,000 Group-term life insurance premiums (face =\ 40.000) 1,800 The stock bonus consisted of 5,000 shares of Bell stock given to Joseph as compensation. At the time of the transfer the stock was listed at $4 per share. What amounts, if any, should Joseph include in gross income this year?

Earnings from 529 plans and Coverdell education savings accounts are excluded from gross income as long as they use the earnings to pay for qualifying educational expenditures.

Simon was awarded a scholarship to attend State Law School from Gary Harris & Associates, Attorneys at Law. The scholarship pays Simon's tuition ($7,000 per semester), fees ($500 per semester), and a $4,500 per semester stipend to pay for food and housing. In order to qualify for the stipend, Simon must work 10 hours per week at Gary Harris & Associates during the term. How much of the scholarship is Simon required to include in gross income?

Lisa and Collin are married. Lisa works as an engineer and earns a salary of $116,000. Collin works at a beauty salon and reported wages of $45,000. Lisa received $500 of interest from corporate bonds and $250 of interest from a municipal bond. Lisa acquired these bonds prior to her marriage to Collin. Collin's father passed away on April 14. He inherited cash of $50,000 and his baseball card collection, valued at $2,000. As beneficiary of his father's life insurance policy, Collin also received $150,000. The couple spent a weekend in Atlantic City in November and came home with gambling winnings of $1,200. Collin was injured in an accident at the salon. He was unable to work for a month, but during this time he received $5,000 from disability insurance he purchased several years ago. Collin also received $2,000 in workman's compensation, and $1,500 from the salon for the emotional trauma he suffered from the accident. Calculate Lisa and Collin's gross income for this year assuming they will file married joint.

Irene's husband passed away this year. After his death, Irene received $250,000 of proceeds from life insurance on her husband, and she inherited her husband's stock portfolio worth $750,000. What amount must Irene include in her gross income?

This year Zach was injured in an auto accident. As a result he received the following payments. Zach received $18,000 of disability pay. Zach has disability insurance provided by his employer as a nontaxable fringe benefit. Zach's employer paid $4,300 in disability premiums for Zach this year. Zach's hospital bills totaled $4,500 and were paid by his health insurance. Zach has health insurance provided by his employer as a nontaxable fringe benefit. Zach's employer paid $6,250 in health insurance premiums for Zach this year. What amount must Zach include in his gross income?

Graham has accepted an offer to do graduate work in the chemistry department at State University. The chemistry department offered Graham a $5,000 tuition reduction and $3,500 toward the cost of room and meals. Under the terms of the scholarship Graham must work in the chemistry labs during the summer as a research assistant. What amount must Graham include in his gross income?

Acme published a story about Paul and as a result Paul sued Acme for damage to his reputation, emotional distress, and punitive damages. Paul won an award of $20,000 for damages, $5,500 for emotional distress, and $50,000 for punitive damages. What amount must Paul include in his gross income?

Vincent is a writer and U.S. citizen. After being out of work for the 1st half of the year, Vincent moved permanently to Ireland on July 4. He worked for an Irish magazine and earned $110,000 in salary from July 4th - December 31st. Earlier in April of this year Vincent received a $1,500 refund of the $3,600 in state income taxes his previous employer withheld from his pay last year. Vincent claimed $6,900 in itemized deductions last year (the standard deduction for a single filer was 6,100). Vincent wants to elect to use the foreign-earned income exclusion to the extent he is eligible. Calculate Vincent's gross income for this year. (Round your final answer to the nearest whole dollar amount and assume there are 365 days in the year.)

Qualified fringe benefits received by an employee can be excluded from gross income.

Which of the following is not a necessary condition for income to be included in gross income?

The cash method of accounting requires taxpayers to recognize income only when that income is received as cash.

Bart, a single taxpayer, has recently retired. This year, he received $24,000 in pension payments and $5,000 of social security payments. What amount must Bart include in his gross income for the social security payments?

Henry works part-time on auto repairs and restoration projects. This year Henry was paid $5,400 for repairs he made to his neighbor's auto. Henry's neighbor promised to pay Henry another $2,200 in cash next year. Henry's brother borrowed $4,100 in cash in December of this year and gave him a negotiable promissory note for $4,300 due in three months with interest. Henry sold the note in January for $3,500. Finally, Henry restored a car for the football coach. The coach paid him with a pass to next year's football games. The pass is worth $750. Compute Henry's gross income assuming that he uses the cash basis of accounting.

This year Kelsi received a $1,900 refund of state income taxes that she paid last year. Last year Kelsi claimed itemized deductions of $7,200 including $2,800 of state income taxes. How much of the refund, if any, must Kelsi include in gross income if the standard deduction last year was $6,100?

Identify which of the items below help determine which taxpayer must recognize earned income:

Sam, age 45, saved diligently for his college education by putting part of his pay into U.S. Series EE saving bonds. Sam purchased the bonds for $6,500, and this year he redeemed the bonds for $7,200. He has no other income this year. What amount must Sam include in his gross income?

Prizes and awards are generally taxable.