Tax COmprehensive Problem

Question

Diana and Ryan Workman were married on January 1 of last year. Ryan has an eight-year-old son, Jorge, from his previous marriage. Diana works as a computer programmer at Datafile Incorporated (DI) earning a base salary of $94,000. Ryan is self-employed and runs a day care center. The Workmans reported the following financial information pertaining to their activities during the current year.

1. Diana earned a $94,000 base salary for the year (not including any taxable benefits).
2. Diana borrowed $12,000 from DI to purchase a car. DI charged her 2 percent interest ($240) on the loan, which Diana paid on December 31. DI would have charged Diana $720 if interest had been calculated at the applicable federal interest rate. Assume that tax avoidance was not a motive for the loan.
3. Ryan received $2,000 in alimony and $4,500 in child support payments from his former spouse. They divorced in 2016.
4. Ryan won a $900 cash prize at his church-sponsored Bingo game.
5. The Workmans received $500 of interest from corporate bonds and $250 of interest from a municipal bond. Ryan owned these bonds before he married Diana.
6. The couple bought 50 shares of ABC Incorporated stock for $40 per share on July 2. The stock was worth $47 a share on December 31. The stock paid a qualified dividend of $1.00 per share on December 1.
7. Ryan's father passed away on April 14. He inherited cash of $50,000 from his father and his baseball card collection, valued at $2,000. As the beneficiary of his father's life insurance policy, Ryan also received $150,000.
8. The couple spent a weekend in Atlantic City in November and came home with gross gambling winnings of $1,200.
9. Diana received $400 cash for reaching 10 years of continuous service at DI.
10. Diana was hit and injured by a drunk driver while crossing a street at a crosswalk. she was unable to work for a month. She received $6,000 from her disability insurance. DI paid the $2,000 premiums for Diana, and it reported the amount of the premiums as compensation to Diana on her year-end W-2.
11. The drunk driver who hit Diana in part (j) was required to pay her $2,000 medical costs, $1,500 for the emotional trauma she suffered from the accident, and $5,000 for punitive damages.
12. For meeting her performance goals this year, Diana was informed on December 27 that she would receive a $5,000 year-end bonus. DI (located in Houston, Texas) mailed Diana's bonus check from its payroll processing center (Tampa, Florida) on December 28. Diana didn't receive the check at home until January 2.
13. Ryan is a 10 percent owner of MNO Incorporated, a Subchapter S corporation. The company reported ordinary business income for the year of $92,000. Ryan acquired the MNO stock two years ago.
14. Ryan's day care business collected $35,000 in revenues. In addition, customers owed him $3,000 at year-end. During the year, Ryan spent $5,500 for supplies, $1,500 for utilities, $15,000 for rent, and $500 for miscellaneous expenses. One customer gave him use of their vacation home for a week (worth $2,500) in exchange for Ryan allowing their child to attend the day care center free of charge. Ryan accounts for his business activities using the cash method of accounting.
15. Diana's employer pays the couple's annual health insurance premiums of $5,500 for a qualified plan.

Required:

1.  Assuming the Workmans file a joint tax return, determine their total gross income, reduced by any deductible expenses from the day care business (this is called total income on the Form 1040).
2. Assuming the Workmans live in California, a community property state, and that Diana and Ryan file separately, determine Diana's total gross income, reduced by any deductible expenses from the day care business (this is called total income on the Form 1040)

Answer 1

1. Married filing jointly

Taxable income items

Item	Taxable amount
Diana’s salary	$94,000
Below-market employee loan benefit: $720 − $240	480
Alimony received under 2016 divorce agreement	2,000
Church bingo winnings	900
Corporate bond interest	500
Qualified dividend: 50 shares × $1	50
Atlantic City gambling winnings	1,200
Cash service award	400
Disability premiums reported as compensation	2,000
Punitive damages	5,000
Ryan’s S corporation income: $92,000 × 10%	9,200
Day-care net business income	15,000
Total income	$130,730

Day-care income is:

$35,000+ $2,500 { barter income}

left($5,500+ $1,500+ $15,000+ $500 right)

=$15,000

The $3,000 of accounts receivable is excluded because Ryan uses the cash method.

Nontaxable or deferred items

1. Child support: excluded.
2. Municipal bond interest: federally tax-exempt.
3. Stock appreciation: unrealized and therefore not recognized.
4. Inheritance and life-insurance proceeds: excluded.
5. Disability benefits: excluded because the employer-paid premiums were reported as taxable compensation.
6. Medical costs and emotional-trauma damages resulting from physical injury: excluded.
7. $5,000 bonus: taxable next year because Diana did not receive it until January 2.
8. Employer-provided qualified health insurance: excluded.

Therefore: {Joint total income}=$130,730}

2. Diana’s separate California return

California spouses filing separately generally report one-half of community income plus all their separate income. Wages and net sole-proprietorship profits earned during marriage are community income and split equally. Income from Ryan’s premarital bonds and S corporation stock remains his separate income. IRS Publication 555⁠

Community taxable item	Total	Diana’s 50%
Salary	$94,000	$47,000
Below-market loan benefit	480	240
Bingo winnings	900	450
Qualified dividend	50	25
Atlantic City winnings	1,200	600
Service award	400	200
Taxable disability premiums	2,000	1,000
Punitive damages	5,000	2,500
Day-care net income	15,000	7,500
Diana’s total income		$59,515

Ryan’s $2,000 alimony, $500 corporate-bond interest, and $9,200 S corporation income are treated as his separate income under the facts given.

{Diana’s separately reported total income}=$59,515}