Exam 1: Business Income, Deductions, and Accounting Methods

Illegal bribes and kickbacks are not deductible as business expenses but fines imposed by a governmental unit are deductible as long as the fines are incurred in the ordinary course of business. No deductions are allowed for expenditures against public policy.

Don operates a taxi business, and this year one of his taxis was damaged in a traffic accident. The taxi was originally purchased for $32,000 and the adjusted basis was $2,000 at the time of the accident. The taxi was repaired at a cost of $2,500 and insurance reimbursed Don $700 of this cost. What is the amount of Don's casualty loss deduction?

Which of the following is a true statement about impermissible accounting methods?

Werner is the president and CEO of Acme, Inc. and this year he took a prospective client to dinner. During the dinner the President and the client discussed a proposed contract for over $6 million and personal matters. After dinner the CEO took the client to a football game and no business was discussed. The CEO paid $1,220 for an expensive dinner and spent $600 for tickets to the game. What is the deductible amount of these expenses?

Qualified production activity income for calculating the domestic production activities deduction is limited to taxable income for a business or modified AGI for an individual.

George operates a business that generated adjusted gross income of $250,000 and taxable income of $170,000 this year (before the domestic production activities deduction). Included in income was $70,000 of qualified production activities income. George paid $60,000 of wages to employees engaged in domestic manufacturing. What domestic production activities deduction will George be eligible to claim this year?

Manley operates a law practice on the accrual method and calendar year. At the beginning of the year Manley's firm had an allowance for doubtful accounts with a balance of $15,000. At the end of the year, Manley recorded bad debt expense of $23,000 and the balance of doubtful accounts had increased to $18,000. What is Manley's deduction for bad debt expense this year?

Only half the cost of a business meal is deductible even if the meal is associated with the active conduct of business.

Blackwell Manufacturing uses the accrual method and reports on a calendar year. This year a customer was injured when visiting the Blackwell factory. The customer sued the company for $500,000, and the case is still being litigated. However, Blackwell's attorney expects that the company will pay at least $250,000 to settle the claim. What amount, if any, can Blackwell deduct for the expected claim settlement this year?

Sandy Bottoms Corporation generated taxable income (before the domestic manufacturing deduction) of $3 million this year. The total income included $2,350,000 of qualified production activities income. The company paid $460,000 in W-2 wages to generate the qualified production activity income. What is Sandy Bottom's domestic manufacturing deduction for the year?

Which of the following is NOT likely to be allowed as a current deduction for a landscaping and nursery business?

Joe is a self-employed electrician who operates his business on the accrual method. This year Joe purchased a shop for his business, and for the first time at year end he received a bill for $4,500 of property taxes on his shop. Joe didn't pay the taxes until after year end but prior to filing his tax return. Which of the following is a true statement?

Ronald is a cash method taxpayer who made the following expenditures this year. Which expenditure is completely deductible in this period as a business expense?

The all-events test for income determines the period in which income will be recognized for tax purposes.

Reasonable in amount means that expenditures can be exorbitant as long as the activity is motivated by profit.

Joe operates a plumbing business that uses the accrual method and reports on a calendar year. This year Joe signed a $50,000 binding contract with Brian. Under the contract Brian will provide Joe with up to 2,000 hours of vehicle repairs at $25 per hour. This year Brian provided 200 hours of repair services and billed Joe for $5,000. At year end Joe had not paid Brian for the services. What amount, if any, can Joe deduct for the repair services this year?

Taxpayers must maintain written contemporaneous records of business purpose when entertaining clients in order to claim a deduction for the expenditures.

When a taxpayer borrows money and invests the loan proceeds in municipal bonds, the interest paid by the taxpayer on the debt will not be deductible.

A short tax year can end on any day of any month other than December.