Exam 4: Gross Income: Concepts and Inclusions

Sarah, a majority shareholder in Teal, Inc., made a $200,000 interest-free loan to the corporation. Sarah is not an employee of the corporation.

On November 1, 2017, Bob, a cash basis taxpayer, gave Dave common stock. On October 30, 2017, the corporation had declared the dividend payable to shareholders of record as of November 22, 2017. The dividend was paid on December 15, 2017. The corporation has paid the $1,200 dividend once each year for the past ten years, during which Bob owned the stock. When Dave collected the dividend on December 15, 2017:

Margaret owns land that appreciates at the rate of 10% each year. Ralph owns a zero coupon (i.e., all of the interest is paid at maturity but is taxed annually) corporate bond with a yield to maturity of 10%. At the end of 10 years, the bond will mature and the land will be sold. At the end of the 10 years,

Jerry purchased a U.S. Series EE savings bond for $744. The bond has a maturity value in 10 years of $1,000 and yields 3% interest. This is the first Series EE bond that Jerry has ever owned.

With respect to the prepaid income from services, which of the following is true?

If a lottery prize winner transfers the prize to a qualified government unit or nonprofit organization, then the prize is excluded from the winner's gross income if the amount of the prize does not exceed 30% of the winner's AGI.

Theresa, a cash basis taxpayer, purchased a bond on July 1, 2013, for $10,000, plus $400 of accrued interest. The bond paid $800 of interest each December 31. On March 31, 2017, she sold the bond for $9,800, which included $200 of accrued interest.

Under the alimony rules:

Turner, a successful executive, is negotiating a compensation plan with his potential employer. The employer has offered to pay Turner a $600,000 annual salary, payable at the rate of $50,000 per month. Turner counteroffers to receive a monthly salary of $40,000 ($480,000 annually) and a $180,000 bonus in 5 years when Turner will be age 65.

Ted was shopping for a new automobile. He found one that met his needs and agreed to purchase it for $23,000. He had shopped around and concluded that he could not get a better price from another dealer. After he had paid for the automobile, the dealer called to notify Ted that he was entitled to a manufacturer's rebate of $1,500. The next week he received a $1,500 check from the manufacturer. How much should Ted include in gross income?

Rachel, who is in the 35% marginal tax bracket, is considering purchasing an annuity that will pay her $10,000 per year for the remainder of her life. Her life expectancy is 15 years. The cost of the annuity is $97,120, and the cost is calculated to yield her an expected 6% return on her investment. As an alternative, Rachel could place the $97,120 in a savings account yielding 6% and she could withdraw $10,000 each year for 15 years (reducing the value of the account to zero at the end of 15 years). How might the tax laws applicable to annuities affect Rachel's decision?

Judy is a cash basis attorney. In 2017, she performed services in connection with the formation of a corporation and received stock with a value of $4,000 for her services. By the end of the year, the value of the stock had decreased to $2,000. She continued to hold the stock. Judy must recognize $4,000 of gross income from the stock for 2017.

A cash basis taxpayer purchased a certificate of deposit for $1,000 on July 1, 2015 that will pay $1,100 upon its maturity on June 30, 2017. The taxpayer must recognize a portion of the income in 2016.

Ted earned $150,000 during the current year. He paid Alice, his former wife, $75,000 in alimony. Under these facts, the tax is paid by the person who benefits from the income rather than the person who earned the income.

The fact that the accounting method the taxpayer uses to measure income is consistent with GAAP does not assure that the method will be acceptable for tax purposes.

Jake is the sole shareholder of an S corporation that earned $60,000 in 2017. The corporation was short on cash and therefore distributed only $15,000 to Jake in 2017. Jake is required to recognize $60,000 of income from the S corporation in 2017.

Darryl, a cash basis taxpayer, gave 1,000 shares of Copper Company common stock to his daughter on September 29, 2017. Copper Company is a publicly held company that has declared a $2.00 per share dividend on September 30th every year for the last 20 years. Just as Darryl had expected, Copper Company declared a $2.00 per share dividend on September 30th, payable on October 15th, to stockholders of record as of October 10th. The daughter received the $2,000 dividend on October 18, 2017.

The realization requirement gives an incentive to own assets that have increased in value and to sell assets whose value has decreased.

Our tax laws encourage taxpayers to ____ assets that have appreciated in value and ____ assets that have declined in value.

On a particular Saturday, Tom had planned to paint a room in his house, but his employer gave him the opportunity to work that day. If Tom works, he must hire a painter for $120. For Tom to have a positive cash flow from working and hiring the painter: