Chapter 12 Tax Credits & Payments Flashcards
are paid to the taxpayer even if the amount of the
credit (or credits) exceeds the taxpayer’s tax liability
refundable credits
are not paid if they exceed the taxpayer’s tax liability
Nonrefundable credits
The child care credit is nonrefundable or refundable?
nonrefundable
Some nonrefundable credits, such as the _____ _____ _____, are subject to carryover
provisions if they exceed the amount allowable as a credit in a given year.
foreign tax credit
Other nonrefundable credits, such as the _____ _____ _____ (refer to Example 5),
are not subject to carryover provisions and are lost if they exceed the limitations.
child care credit
Define general business credit
is composed of a number of other credits, each of
which is computed separately under its own set of rules.1 The general business
credit combines these credits into one amount to limit the amount of business
credits that can be used to offset a taxpayer’s income tax liability.
Two special rules apply to the general business credit
First, any unused credit is
carried back 1 year, then forward 20 years. Second, for any tax year, the general business
credit is limited to the taxpayer’s net income tax reduced by the greater of:2
• The tentative minimum tax. This amount relates to the alternative minimum
tax. See Chapter 15.
• 25 percent of net regular tax liability that exceeds $25,000
is the regular tax liability reduced by certain nonrefundable
credits (e.g., credit for child and dependent care expenses, foreign tax credit).
Net regular tax liability
Floyd’s general business credit for the current year is $70,000. His net income tax is E X A M P L E 7
$150,000, the tentative minimum tax is $130,000, and Floyd’s net regular tax liability is
$150,000. He has no other tax credits. Floyd’s general business credit allowed for the
tax year is computed as follows.
Net income tax $ 150,000
Less: The greater of
: $130,000 (tentative minimum tax)
: $31,250 [25% × ($150,000 − $25,000)] (130,000)
Amount of general business credit allowed for tax year $ 20,000
Floyd now holds $50,000 ($70,000 − $20,000) of unused general business credits
that may be carried back or forward to other tax years.
What type of method is applied to the carrybacks, carryovers, and utilization of credits
earned during a tax year
FIFO method. The oldest credits are used first in determining the amount
of the general business credit. The FIFO method minimizes the potential for loss of
a general business credit benefit due to the expiration of credit carryovers, because
the earliest years are used before the current credit for the taxable year.
is intended to discourage businesses from moving from older,
economically distressed areas (e.g., inner cities) to newer locations and to encourage
the preservation of historic structures
rehabilitation expenditures credit
Rate of credit for rehabilitation expenses for Nonresidential buildings and residential rental property,
other than certified historic structures, originally
placed in service before 1936
10%
Rate of credit for rehabilitation expenses for Nonresidential and residential certified historic
structures
20%
Recapture Calculation for Rehabilitation Expenditures
Credit.
Use table 12.1 on page 12-7
Juan spent $60,000 to rehabilitate a building (adjusted basis of $40,000) that had been
placed in service in 1932. He is allowed a ________ credit for rehabilitation
expenditures.
$6,000 (10% × $60,000)
Juan then increases the basis of the building by
$54,000 [$60,000
(rehabilitation expenditures) − $6,000 (credit allowed)].
If the building were a historic
structure, the credit allowed would be
$12,000 (20% × $60,000),
and the building’s
depreciable basis would increase by
$48,000 [$60,000 (rehabilitation expenditures) −
$12,000 (credit allowed)].
To qualify for the credit, buildings must be substantially rehabilitated. A building
has been substantially rehabilitated if qualified rehabilitation expenditures exceed
the greater of:
- the adjusted basis of the property before the rehabilitation expenditures, or
- $5,000.
Qualified rehabilitation expenditures do not include the cost of
acquiring a building,
the cost of facilities related to a building (such as a parking lot), and the cost
of enlarging an existing building.
is based on a holding period requirement of five years and is
added to the taxpayer’s regular tax liability in the recapture year. The recapture
amount also is added to the adjusted basis of the property for purposes of determining
gain or loss realized upon disposition.
rehabilitation expenditures
credit recapture
The portion of the credit recaptured is a specified percentage of the credit that
was taken by the taxpayer. This percentage is based on`
the period the property was
held by the taxpayer, as shown in Table 12.1
was enacted to encourage employers to hire individuals
from one or more of a number of targeted and economically disadvantaged
groups.7 Examples of such targeted persons include qualified ex-felons, high-risk
youths, food stamp recipients, veterans, summer youth employees, and long-term
family assistance recipients.
work opportunity tax credit
Work Opportunity tax credit is computed by?
generally is equal to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages (per eligible
employee) for the first 12 months of employment. If the credit is taken, the
employer’s tax deduction for wages is reduced by the amount of the credit.
For an employer to qualify for the 40 percent credit, the employee must what 2 things?
1) be
certified by a designated local agency as being a member of one of the targeted
groups and (2) have completed at least 400 hours of service to the employer. If an
employee meets the first condition but not the second, the credit rate is reduced to
25 percent provided the employee has completed a minimum of 120 hours of service
to the employer.
In January 2012, Green Company hires four individuals who are certified to be members
of a qualifying targeted group. Each employee works 800 hours and is paid wages of
$8,000 during the year. Green Company’s work opportunity credit is
$9,600 [($6,000 ×
40%) × 4 employees]. If the tax credit is taken, Green must reduce its deduction for
wages paid by $9,600. No credit is available for wages paid to these employees after their
first year of employment.
The credit for qualified summer youth employees is allowed on wages for services
during what period
any 90-day period between May 1 and September 15
Computation of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit: Qualified Summer
Youth Employees. For qualified summer youth employees The maximum wages
eligible for the credit are
3,000 per summer youth employee.
A qualified summer youth employee must be age
16 or 17 on the hiring date. In addition,
the individual’s principal place of abode must be within an empowerment
zone, enterprise community, or renewal community.
Computation of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit: Long-Term
Family Assistance Recipient
The credit is equal to 40 percent of the first $10,000 of qualified wages paid to
an employee in the first year of employment, plus 50 percent of the first $10,000 of
qualified wages paid in the second year of employment, resulting in a maximum
credit per qualified employee of $9,000 [$4,000 (year 1) + $5,000 (year 2)].
For long-term family assistance recipient a tax credit is available to employers that are ?
hiring individuals who have been long-term
recipients of family assistance welfare benefits.
n general, long-term recipients are
those individuals who are
certified by a designated local agency as being a member
of a family receiving assistance under a public aid program for at least an 18-month
period ending on the hiring date.
The family assistance credit is available for qualified
wages paid in what times
first 2 years of employment
So what were the 3 different work opportunity tax credits that each had different computations?
General one
Qualified Summer Youth Employees
Long-Term Family Assistance Recipient
The research activities credit is the sum of three components:
an incremental research activities credit, a basic research credit, and an
energy research credit
How do you calculate the Incremental Research Activities Credit
The incremental research activities credit is 20 percent of the excess of qualified
research expenses for the taxable year over the base amount
In general, research expenditures qualify if
the research relates to discovering
technological information that is intended for use in the development of a new
or improved business component of the taxpayer.
expenses for research that is performed in-house (by taxpayer or employee) are
qualify fully.
If the
research is conducted by persons outside the taxpayer’s business (e.g., by a thirdparty
contractor), how much qualifies for the credit?
only 65 percent of the amount paid qualifies for the credit.
George incurs the following research expenditures:
In-house wages, supplies, computer time $50,000
Paid to Cutting Edge Scientific Foundation for research 30,000
George’s qualified research expenditures are
$69,500 [$50,000 + ($30,000 × 65%)].
Beyond the general guidelines described above, the Code does not give specific
examples of qualifying research. However, the credit is not allowed for research that
falls into certain categories, including the following
• Research conducted after the beginning of commercial production of the
business component.
• Surveys and studies such as market research, testing, or routine data collection.
• Research conducted outside the United States (other than research undertaken
in Puerto Rico or possessions of the United States).
• Research in the social sciences, arts, or humanities
Jack, a calendar year taxpayer, incurs qualifying research expenditures of $200,000 at
the beginning of the year. If Jack’s base amount is $100,000, the incremental research
activities credit is
$20,000 [($200,000 − $100,000) × 20%].
Qualified research and experimentation expenditures are not only eligible for
the 20 percent credit, but they also can be deducted in the year incurred.13 In this
regard, a taxpayer has two choices
• Use the full credit and reduce the expense deduction for research expenses
by 100 percent of the credit.
• Retain the full expense deduction and reduce the credit by the product
of 100 percent of the credit times the maximum corporate tax rate
(35 percent).
are
allowed an additional 20 percent credit for basic research payments made in excess
of a base amount. This credit is not available to individual taxpayers.
Corporations (other than S corporations or personal service corporations)
Basic research
payments are amounts paid in cash to a
qualified basic research organization, such
as a college or university, or a tax-exempt organization operated primarily to conduct
scientific research.
is any original investigation for the advancement of scientific knowledge
not having a specific commercial objective
basic research