Exam 5: Gross Income: Exclusions

Melody works for a company with only 22 employees. Her employer contributed $2,000 to her health savings account (HSA), and the account earned $100 in interest during the year. Melody withdrew only $1,200 to pay medical expenses during the year. Melody is not required to recognize any gross income from the HSA for the year.

The Royal Motor Company manufactures automobiles. Non-management employees of the company can buy a new automobile for Royal's cost plus 2%. The automobiles are sold to dealers at cost plus 20%. Generally, management employees of Local Dealer, Inc., are allowed to buy a new automobile from the company at the dealer's cost. Which of the following statements is correct?

The First Chance Casino has gambling facilities, a bar, a restaurant, and a hotel. All employees are allowed to obtain food from the restaurant at no charge during working hours. In the case of the employees who operate the gambling facilities, bar, and restaurant, 60% of all of Casino's employees, the meals are provided for the convenience of the Casino. However, the hotel workers demanded equal treatment and therefore were also allowed to eat in the restaurant at no charge while they are at work. Which of the following is correct?

A U.S. citizen worked in a foreign country for the period July 1, 2017 through August 1, 2018. Her salary was $10,000 per month. Also, in 2017 she received $5,000 in dividends from foreign corporations (not qualified dividends). No dividends were received in 2018. Which of the following is correct?

Ed died while employed by Violet Company. His wife collected $40,000 on a group term life insurance policy that Violet provided its employees, and $6,000 of accrued salary Ed had earned prior to his death. All of the premiums on the group term life insurance policy were excluded from the Ed's gross income. Ed's wife is required to recognize as gross income only the $6,000 she received for the accrued salary.

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?

Cash received by an employee from an employer:

Carmen had worked for Sparrow Corporation for thirty years when she died of a heart attack at age 60. She was practically penniless at the time of her death, owed a $12,000 hospital bill, and had a disabled spouse. The company was very concerned about its public image, and rather than run the risk of embarrassment from one of its long-term employees dying and leaving her spouse with insufficient means, the Board of Directors agreed to pay Carmen's hospital bill and to give her spouse $6,000 per year for the rest of his life. Discuss both sides of the question whether Carmen (or her estate) and her spouse realize any taxable income from the above.

Albert had a terminal illness which required almost constant nursing care for the remaining two years of his estimated life, according to his doctor. Albert had a life insurance policy with a face amount of $100,000. Albert had paid $25,000 of premiums on the policy. The insurance company has offered to pay him $80,000 to cancel the policy, although its cash surrender value was only $55,000. Albert accepted the $80,000. Albert used $15,000 to pay his medical expenses. Albert made a miraculous recovery and lived another 20 years. As a result of cashing in the policy:

A company has a medical reimbursement plan for officers that covers all costs that the insurer will not pay. However, for all employees who are not officers, the medical reimbursement plan applies only after the employee has paid $1,000 from his or her own funds. An officer incurred $1,500 in medical expenses and was reimbursed for that amount. An hourly worker also incurred $1,500 in medical expense and was reimbursed $500.

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:

Stuart owns 300 shares of Turquoise Corporation stock and 2,000 shares of Blue Corporation stock. During the year, Stuart received 150 shares of Turquoise as a result of a 1 for 2 stock split. The value of the shares received was $4,800. Stuart also received 100 shares of Blue Corporation stock as a result of a 5% stock dividend. Stuart did not have the option of receiving cash from Blue. The additional shares he received had a value of $7,200. Stuart's gross income from the receipt of the additional Turquoise and Blue shares is:

A scholarship recipient at State University may exclude from gross income the scholarship proceeds used to pay for:

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.

Assuming a taxpayer qualifies for the exclusion treatment, the interest income on educational savings bonds:

The taxpayer is a Ph.D. student in accounting at City University. The student is paid $1,500 per month for teaching two classes. The total amount received for the year is $13,500.

Employers can provide numerous benefits to their employees and the employees are permitted to exclude the value of these benefits from gross income. What are the effects of the exclusions on: a. The progressiveness of the tax system? b. The complexity of the tax system?

An employee can exclude from gross income the value of meals provided by his or her employer whenever:

In December 2018, Emily, a cash basis taxpayer, received a $2,500 cash scholarship for the Spring semester of 2019. However, she did not use the funds to pay the tuition until January 2019. Emily can exclude the $2,500 from her gross income in 2018.