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Inclusions, Exclusions, and AGI Assessment 3
Overview
Apply the rules associated with inclusions and exclusions to an individual’s gross income and apply another set of code rules to determine a taxpayer’s AGI.Note: Completing a tax form requires specific steps that need to be executed in a sequence. The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order. Incorrect entries in previous assessments will result in incorrect entries in future assessments. Do not complete Assessment 3 until you have submitted and received faculty feedback for Assessment 2.
Understanding the ever-changing rules for including and excluding income in the calculation of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI) for income tax purposes is a skill that is developed through practice.By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
• Competency 2: Analyze the basics of individual income tax return preparation.o Analyze official rules and instructions to correctly calculate deductible self-employment taxes.o Interpret official rules and instructions to record correct entries on tax forms.o Apply rules and instructions to correctly compute AGI for the year.
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Context
I don’t know what to do or where to turn in this taxation matter. Somewhere there must be a book that tells all about it, where I could go to straighten it out in my mind. But I don’t know where the book is, and maybe I couldn’t read it if I found it.” — Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, 1921–1923.
About now, you may be nodding your head in agreement with President Harding’s quote about the complexity of the tax code, with its many inclusions and exclusions. What started out as a simple document, designed to raise capital to make the new nation independent from the British Empire, has evolved over the centuries and decades into a complex maze of rules and regulations.Nowhere is that more pronounced than in the rules for including and excluding income in the calculation of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income (AGI) for income tax purposes.
Gross income is commonly defined as the amount of a company’s or a person’s income before all reductions, except that which is specifically excluded by the Internal Revenue Code, before taking deductions or taxes into account. Since not all of an individual’s personal income is subject to taxation, one must crack open the voluminous tax codebook to discover exclusions from the tax collector’s grasp.
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Question to Consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.The primary purpose of the Internal Revenue Service is to raise revenue for the government. However, the U.S. Congress has chosen to exempt certain income from taxation, such as scholarships, gifts, life insurance proceeds, municipal bond interest, and employee fringe benefits.
• Why you believe Congress has provided these exemptions to taxpayers?
• Which of the additional exemptions would you challenge?
• Which of the additional exemptions do you agree with?
Resources
Required Resources
The following resources are required to complete the assessment.
Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.
RS.gov is the homepage for the federal IRS Web site. Use the tabs at the top of the page to navigate the site. The Interactive Tax Assistant and Tax Trails are tools that walk you through a series of questions to find answers to tax questions
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Download the appropriate forms and publications from the IRS Web site to complete this assessment.•IRS.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.irs.gov/• IRS. (n.d.). Interactive tax assistant. Retrieved from http://www.irs.gov/uac/Interactive-Tax-Assistant-(ITA)-1• IRS. (n.d.). Tax trails. Retrieved from www.irs.gov/Individuals/Tax-Trails%2d%2d%2dMain-Menu
FORM 1040: INCOME
This section of the Form 1040 encompasses the major components of total income and many types of nontaxable income for the filing taxpayer(s). Major components of this section include interest income, dividend income, unemployment compensation, social security benefits, and other types of income received by the taxpayer(s).
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
FORM 1040: ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME
Filing taxpayers can deduct additional items from total income for purposes of computing AGI. These items are termed “for AGI deductions”, or “above the line” deductions. The line refers to the AGI line on Form 1040.
The major items covered in this section of the Form 1040 are student loan interest, health savings accounts, moving expenses, self-employment taxes, early withdrawals from savings, and deductions for alimony paid.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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Resources
J. K. Lasser Institute. (2015). Your income tax 2015: For preparing your 2014 tax return.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.J. K. Lasser Institute. (2014). Your income tax 2014: For preparing your 2013 tax return.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Drake, A. E. (2015, January 5). Reducing your taxes before the end of the year. Mondaq Business Briefing.Vento, J. J. (2014, March).
Beating the tax man. USA Today, 142(2826), 58–59.
Ashton, M. (2015, March 5). The forgotten tax deductions.
Mondaq Business Briefing.
Halperin, D. I., & Warren, A. C., Jr. (2014). Understanding income tax deferral.
New York University Tax Law Review, 67 Tax L. Rev. 317.
Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided.
Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.
lynda.com. (n.d.). Income tax fundamentals: Accounting tutorials. Retrieved from http://www.lynda.com/Business-Accounting-tutorials/Income-Tax-Fundamentals/188210-2.htmlIRS. (n.d.). IRS videos. https://www.youtube.com/user/irsvideos.The IRS has a channel on YouTube devoted to income tax information in a video format. There are numerous videos available to help you with the course assessments. Videos are available with closed captions and in ASL and multilingual versions.
You can search this channel by topic.
Cruz, A., Deschamps, M., Niswander, F., Prendergast, D., Schisler, D., & Trone, J. (2016). Fundamentals of taxation 2016 [with taxation software] (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Chapter 3,
“Gross Income: Inclusions and Exclusions.”Chapter 4, “Adjustments for Adjusted Gross Income.”
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Assessment Instructions
Note: The assessments in this course are presented in sequence and must be completed in order. In Assessments 2–5, you will work step-by-step toward completing a 1040 tax return and all the necessary related forms, based on a provided scenario. Do not complete Assessment 3 until you have submitted and received faculty feedback for Assessment 2.
Incorrect entries in Assessment 2 affect the entries in Assessment 3.
For this assessment, use information and publications from IRS.gov and the other IRS resources linked in the Resources under the Required Resources heading to determine the adjusted gross income (AGI) for Jacob and Taylor Weaver, based on the provided scenario.
Complete the following:
Read the information in the scenario below.Download the appropriate forms and publications from IRS.gov.Enter information from Assessment 2, Schedules C and SE, into the 1040 form.Apply the rules for adjustments to adjusted gross income.Enter applicable information from the scenario into the 1040 form.Interpret official rules and instructions to record correct entries on the tax form.Calculate the AGI for the Weavers.Submit the tax form.
Scenario
Jacob and Taylor Weaver, ages 45 and 42 respectively, are married and are filing jointly in2016. They have three children, Ashley, age 9; Patrick, age 6; and John, age 18.Social Security numbers are: Jacob, 222-33-4444; Taylor, 555-66-7777; Ashley, 888-99-1234; Patrick, 789-56-4321; John, 123-45-6789. Taylor works part-time as a paralegal.She earned $26,000 in 2016.Taxes withheld: $4,200 withheld.Estimated tax payments: $25,000.$350 paid with their 2015 state tax return.Jacob and Taylor bought their first house in 2016.
Home mortgage interest: $7,246.Property tax: $2,230.Federal income withholding: $2,350.Charities: $4,500.$435 to rent a moving truck.$8,000 to put new siding on the house.$11,600 for child care expenses ($5,800 for each child).It was paid to Lil Tigers Daycare, 1115 S. Garrison St., Muncie, IN 47305 (EIN 98-7654321).Taylor is a part-time student at Ball State University in Muncie.She received a 1098-T indicating tuition and fees for 2016 in the amount of $6,011.Health insurance for the family, through Taylor’s job, cost $6000 for all 12 months of 2016.They paid deductibles and co-payments of $550.
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