Mark, a Calendar Year Taxpayer, Purchased an Annuity for $50,000

Multiple Choice

Mark, a calendar year taxpayer, purchased an annuity for $50,000 in 2017. The annuity was to pay him $3,000 on the first day of each year, beginning in 2017, for the remainder of his life. Mark's life expectancy at the time he purchased the annuity was 20 years. In 2019 Mark developed a deadly disease, and doctors estimated that he would live for no more than 24 months.

A) If Mark dies in 2020, a loss can be claimed on his final return for his unrecovered cost of the annuity.
B) If Mark dies in 2020, his returns for the two previous years can be amended to allocate the entire cost of the annuity to the years in which he received payments and reported gross income.
C) If Mark is still alive at the end of 2019, he is not required to recognize any gross income because of his terminal illness.
D) If Mark is still alive in 2039, his recovery of capital for that year is $500.
E) None of these.