Exam 6: Deductions and Losses: in General

Why are there restrictions on the recognition of gains and losses resulting from transactions between related parties?

What is the appropriate tax treatment for expenditures paid by a taxpayer for another's benefit?

Bob and April own a house at the beach. The house was rented to unrelated parties for eight weeks during the year. April and the children used the house 12 days for their vacation during the year. After properly dividing the expenses between rental and personal use, it was determined that a loss was incurred as follows: Gross rental income \ 4,000 Less: Mortgage interest and property taxes \ 3,500 Other allocated expenses 2,000 (5,500) Net rental loss ( \1 ,500) What is the correct treatment of the rental income and expenses on Bob and April's joint income tax return for the current year assuming the IRS approach is used if applicable?

Section 212 expenses that are related to rent and royalty income are deductions for AGI.

Purchased goodwill must be capitalized but can be amortized over a 60-month period.

Legal expenses incurred in connection with rental property are deductions from AGI.

An expense need not be recurring in order to be "ordinary."

Ralph wants to give his daughter $1,800 for Christmas. As an alternative, she suggests that he pay the property taxes on her residence. If Ralph pays the property taxes, he can deduct them.

Olive, Inc., an accrual method taxpayer, is a corporation that is equally owned by Maurice and Alex, who are brothers. The corporation uses the accrual method of accounting and the shareholders use the cash method. To provide Olive with funds to acquire additional working capital, each shareholder lends Olive $100,000 with a 6% interest rate. At the end of the tax year, there is unpaid accrued interest of $3,000 due to each shareholder. Olive pays the $3,000 to each shareholder early next year. From a timing perspective, when should Olive deduct this $6,000 and when should Maurice and Alex include the $3,000 in gross income?

For an activity classified as a hobby, the expenses are categorized as follows: (1) Amounts that affect adjusted basis and would be deductible under other Code sections if the activity had been engaged in for profit (e.g., depreciation, amortization, and depletion). (2) Amounts deductible under other Code sections without regard to the nature of the activity, such as property taxes and home mortgage interest. (3) Amounts deductible under other Code sections if the activity had been engaged in for profit, but only if those amounts do not affect adjusted basis (e.g., maintenance, utilities, and supplies). For tax years before 2018, if these expenses exceed the gross income from the activity and are thus limited, the sequence in which they are deductible is:

Bruce owns several sole proprietorships. Must he use the same accounting method for each of these businesses?

A vacation home at the beach that is rented for 200 days and used personally for 16 days is classified in the personal/rental use category.

In determining whether an activity should be classified as a business or as a hobby, the satisfaction of the presumption (i.e., profit in at least three out of five years) ensures treatment as a business.

A baseball team that pays a star player an annual salary of $25 million can deduct the entire $25 million as salary expense. If the same amount is paid to the CEO of IBM, only $1 million is deductible.

The Code does not specifically define what constitutes a trade or business.

Margarita operates a sole proprietorship that earns $100,000 of qualified business income after deducting salaries of $300,000. The sole proprietorship is not a specified service business. She files a single tax return for 2019. Assume her taxable income before the QBI deduction is $175,000. Margarita's QBI deduction for 2019 is:

Susan is a sales representative for a U.S. weapons manufacturer. She makes a $100,000 "grease" payment to a U.S. government official associated with a weapons purchase by the U.S. Army. She makes a similar payment to a Saudi Arabian government official associated with a similar sale. Neither of these payments is deductible by Susan's employer.

Tom operates an illegal drug-running operation and incurred the following expenses: Salaries \ 75,000 Ilegal kickbacks 20,000 Bribes to border guards 25,000 Cost of goods sold 160,000 Rent 8,000 Interest 10,000 Insurance on furniture and fixtures 6,000 Utilities and telephone 20,000 Which of the following amounts reduces his taxable income?

Briefly discuss the disallowance of deductions for capital expenditures.

Bobby operates a drug-trafficking business. Because he has an accounting background, he keeps detailed financial records. What expenses can Bobby deduct on his Federal income tax return?