Question & Answer

George and Wanda received $30,200 of Social Security benefits this year ($12,000 for George; $18,200 for Wanda). They also received $5,000 of interest from jointly owned City of Ranburne Bonds and dividend income. What amount of the Social Security benefits must George and Wanda include in their gross income under the following independent situations?

Grady received $8,200 of Social Security benefits this year. Grady also reported salary and interest income this year. What amount of the benefits must Grady include in his gross income under the following two independent situations?

For each of the following independent situations, indicate the amount the taxpayer must include in gross income and explain your answer:

Three years ago, Adrian purchased 100 shares of stock in X Corp. for $10,000. On December 30 of year 4, Adrian sells the 100 shares for $6,000.

George bought the following amounts of Stock A over the years:

Grayson (single) is in the 24 percent tax rate bracket and has the sold the following stocks in 2024:

Lanny and Shirley divorced in 2018 and do not live together. Shirley has custody of their child, Art, and Lanny pays Shirley $22,000 per year. All property was divided equally.

Gramps purchased a joint survivor annuity that pays $500 monthly over his remaining life and that of his wife, Gram. Gramps is 70 years old and Gram is 65 years old. Gramps paid $97,020 for the contract. How much income will Gramps recognize on the first payment?

Larry purchased an annuity from an insurance company that promises to pay him $1,500 per month for the rest of his life. Larry paid $170,820 for the annuity. Larry is in good health and is 72 years old. Larry received the first annuity payment of $1,500 this month. Use the expected number of payments in Exhibit 5-1 for this problem.

Anne purchased an annuity from an insurance company that promised to pay her $20,000 per year for the next 10 years. Anne paid $145,000 for the annuity, and in exchange she will receive $200,000 over the term of the annuity.

Ralph owns a building that he is trying to lease. Ralph is a calendar-year, cash-method taxpayer and is trying to evaluate the tax consequences of three different lease arrangements. Under lease 1, the building rents for $500 per month, payable on the first of the next month, and the tenant must make a $500 security deposit that is refunded at the end of the lease. Under lease 2, the building rents for $5,500 per year, payable at the time the lease is signed, but no security deposit is required. Under lease 3, the building rents for $500 per month, payable at the beginning of each month, and the tenant must pay a security deposit of $1,000 that is to be applied toward the rent for the last two months of the lease.

Mark received 10 ISOs at the time he started working for Hendricks Corporation five years ago, when Hendricks’s price was $5 per share (each option gives him the right to purchase 10 shares of Hendricks Corporation stock for $5 per share). Now that Hendricks’s share price is $35 per share, Mark intends to exercise all of his options and hold all of his shares for more than one year. Assume that more than a year after exercise, Mark sells the stock for $35 a share. What are Mark’s tax consequences on the grant date, the exercise date, and the date he sells the shares, assuming his ordinary marginal rate is 32 percent and his long-term capital gains rate is 15 percent?

Cammie received 100 NQOs (each option provides a right to purchase 10 shares of MNL stock for $10 per share). She started working for MNL Corporation four years ago (5/1/Y1) when MNL’s stock price was $8 per share. Now( 8/15/Y5) that MNL’s stock price is $40 per share, she intends to exercise all of her options. After acquiring the 1,000 MNL shares with her stock options, she held the shares for over one year and sold (on 10/1/Y6) them at $60 per share. What are Cammie’s taxes due on the grant date (5/1/Y1), exercise date (8/15/Y5), and sale date (10/1/Y6), assuming her ordinary marginal rate is 32 percent and her long-term capital gains rate is 15 percent?

Clyde is a cash-method taxpayer who reports on a calendar-year basis. This year Paylate Corporation has decided to pay Clyde a year-end bonus of $1,000. Determine the amount Clyde should include in his gross income this year under the following circumstances:

L. A. and Paula file as married taxpayers. In August of this year, they received a $5,200 refund of state income taxes that they paid last year. How much of the refund, if any, must L. A. and Paula include in gross income under the following independent scenarios? Assume the standard deduction last year was $27,700.

] Louis files as a single taxpayer. In April of this year he received a $900 refund of state income taxes that he paid last year. How much of the refund, if any, must Louis include in gross income under the following independent scenarios? Assume the standard deduction last year was $13,850.

Last year Acme paid Ralph $15,000 to install a new air-conditioning unit at its headquarters building. The air conditioner did not function properly, and this year Acme requested that Ralph return the payment. Because Ralph could not repair one critical part in the unit, he refunded the cost of the repair, $5,000, to Acme.

Jim recently joined the Austin Barter Club, an organization that facilitates the exchange of services between its members. This year Jim provided lawn-mowing services to other club members. Jim received the following from the barter club. Determine the amount, if any, Jim should include in his gross income in each of the following situations:

Although Hank is retired, he is an excellent handyman and often works part time on small projects for neighbors and friends. Last week his neighbor, Mike, offered to pay Hank $500 for minor repairs to his house. Hank completed the repairs in December of this year. Hank uses the cash method of accounting and is a calendar-year taxpayer. Compute Hank’s gross income for this year from each of the following alternative transactions:

For the following independent cases, determine whether economic income is present and, if so, whether it must be included in gross income. Identify a tax authority that supports your analysis.

XYZ declared a $1 per share dividend on August 15. The date of record for the dividend was September 1 (the stock began selling ex-dividend on September 2). The dividend was paid on September 10. Ellis is a cash-method taxpayer. Determine the economic income and the amount he must include in gross income under the following independent circumstances.

} Devon owns 1,000 shares of stock worth $10,000. This year he received 200 additional shares of this stock from a stock dividend. His 1,200 shares are now worth $12,500. Must Devon include the dividend paid in stock in income?

For the following independent cases, determine whether economic income is present and, if so, whether it must be included in gross income (i.e., is it realized and recognized for tax purposes?).

Describe the circumstances under which distributions from defined contribution plan are penalized. What are the penalties?

How are defined benefit plans different from defined contribution plans? How are they similar?