Exam 5: Gross Income: Exclusions

As an executive of Cherry,Inc.,Ollie receives a fringe benefit in the form of annual tuition scholarships of $10,000 to each of his three children.The scholarships are paid by the company on behalf of the children of key employees directly to each child's educational institution and are payable only if the student maintains a B average.

Ridge is the manager of a motel.As a condition of his employment,Ridge is required to live in a room on the premises so that he would be there in case of emergencies.Ridge considered this a fringe benefit,since he would otherwise be required to pay $800 per month rent.The room that Ridge occupied normally rented for $70 per night,or $2,100 per month.On the average,90% of the motel rooms were occupied.As a result of this rent-free use of a room,Ridge is required to include in gross income.

Workers' compensation benefits are included in gross income if the employer also pays the employee while the employee is recovering from his or her injury.

Iris collected $150,000 on her deceased husband's life insurance policy.The policy was purchased by the husband's employer under a group policy.Iris's husband had included $5,000 in gross income from the group term life insurance premiums during the years he worked for the employer.She elected to collect the policy in 10 equal annual payments of $18,000 each.

The taxpayer incorrectly took a $5,000 deduction (e.g.,incorrectly calculated depreciation) in 2017 and as a result his taxable income was reduced by $5,000.The taxpayer discovered his error in 2018.The taxpayer must add $5,000 to his 2018 gross income in accordance with the tax benefit rule to correct for the 2017 error.

Mia participated in a qualified state tuition program for the benefit of her son Michael.She contributed $15,000.When Michael entered college,the balance in the fund satisfied the tuition charge of $20,000.When the funds were withdrawn to pay the college tuition for Michael,neither Mia nor Michael must include $5,000 ($20,000 - $15,000) in gross income.

Margaret is trying to decide whether to place funds in a qualified tuition program.Her son will be attending college in 4 years.She is in the 35% marginal tax bracket and she believes she can earn an 7% before tax return on alternative investments.Thus,$10,000 will accumulate to $11,948 (after-tax) in 4 years.Margaret expects tuition to increase at the rate of 5% each year to $12,155 in 4 years.Her son will be in the 15% marginal tax bracket in all relevant years.Given these assumptions,should Margaret participate in the qualified tuition program?

The exclusion of interest on educational savings bonds:

Kristen's employer owns its building and provides parking space for its employees.The value of the free parking is $150 per month.Karen's employer does not have parking facilities,but reimburses its employee for the cost of parking in a nearby garage,up to $150 per month.

Barney is a full-time graduate student at State University.He serves as a teaching assistant for which he is paid $700 per month for 9 months and his $5,000 tuition is waived.The university waives tuition for all of its employees.In addition,he receives a $1,500 research grant to pursue his own research and studies.Barney's gross income from the above is:

George is employed by the Quality Appliance Company.All the full time employees are allowed to purchase appliances at the company's cost plus 10%.The employee also is given,at no cost,a 1-year service contract on all the goods purchased from the company.George purchased a refrigerator for $500.The company's normal selling price for the refrigerator is $800.George also received a service contract,at no charge,that had a value of $150.During the year,George was required to have his refrigerator serviced once.The cost of the call would have been $75 if he had not had the service contract.Is George required to recognize any income from the purchase of the refrigerator,the receipt of the service contract,and the service call?

Jack received a court award in a civil libel and slander suit against National Gossip.He received $120,000 for damages to his professional reputation,$100,000 for damages to his personal reputation,and $50,000 in punitive damages.Jack must include in his gross income as a damage award:

The de minimis fringe benefit: