Chapter 3: Fundamentals of Income Tax Flashcards
tax formula
income - deductions = taxable income
and then
taxable income x tax rate = tax liability
taxable income
determined by subtracting allowable deductins from income
form 1040
where individuals report their income, deductions and other info required for the calculation of the federal tax liability
- all taxpayers required to file Form 1040
schedules 1 through 3 of a form 1040
are only filed if necessary
income
broadly defined: is the total amount of money and the fair market value of property, services or other accretions to wealth received, but it does not included borrowed money or a return of invested $
wages, business income, gains, interest, rents, royalties, dividends, pensions, IRD, life insurance (unless exempt), prizes & awards, group term>$50,000, unemployment comp, social security, alimony rec for divorces final b4 1/1/19
Exclusions
income items that are not subject to income tax
- each exclusion must be specifically authorized by Congress and set forth in the IRC or must be determined by the courts to be outside the definition of income as that term is used in the 16th Amendement to the US Constitution
most exclusions from gross incoome are allowed by IRC Sections 101 through 150
Federal Income Tax Formula
partial list of exclusions (subtracted from income)
Gross Income
- includes all income items that must be reported on the federal income tax return and that are subject to the federal income tax
- incldues all income as broadly defined, less exclusions
- UNLESS: the IRC contains a specific provision excluding a particular item from income
- all income from whatever source derived
- money, property, barter
items included in Gross Income
deductions for AGI (above the line deductions)
- subtracted from GI in arriving at taxable income
for individual taxpayers, deductions are divided into 2 categories
- deductions for (before) AGI (above the line)
- deductions from (after) AGI (below the line)
above the line deductions
deductions for (before) AGI
below the line deductions
deductions from AGI
- also called “itemized deductions” or Schedule A deductions
partial list of deductions for AGI (ATLD)
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
“the line”
- GI reduced by above the line deductions (ATLD)
- AGI is used to determine:
- limitations on several BTLD,
- limitations on several income tax credits
- phase-out of tax benefits
- AGI is a concept that applies to individual tax returns, it does NOT apply to corporate or other entity tax returns
BTLD from AGI
- those deductions that are subtracted from AGI
- consist of the greater of:
- the standard deduction or
- certain allowable itemized deductions or the sum of the following:
- medical expenses, interest, taxes, casualty losses, charitable deductions, misc itemized deductions
- qualified business income deductions (QBI)
what are the 5 ways to reduce tax?
- exclusions
- deductions (ATL, BTL & the line)
- use the correct filing status
- Single, better to see if you can file as head of household to reduce tax
- married filed jointly, sometimes it’s better to file as married filed separately
- marginal tax rates
- invest in dividend paying stocks instead of bonds bc interest income is taxed at the Ordinary tax rates as high as 37% but dividends are taxed @ capital gains rates, which the max rate rn is 20% + possibly 3.8% sirtax so a 20ish% max tax rate is lower
- tax credits
- take advantage while they are around/available to you. government offers them to try and incentivize your behavior
standard deductions
a standard amount used to offset AGI that is specified by Congress
- its adjusted for inflation on an annual basis
- includes a basic standard deduction + additional stand deduct amounts for taxpayers aged 65 or older and for taxpayers who are blind (can receive stand deduct from both age & blindness together)
- allowed for taxpayer and spouse, not the dependents
3 situations where a taxpayer is not allowed to use the standard deduction and must itemize deductions
- a married individual filing separately cannot use the stan deduc if the spouse itemizes deductions
- nonresident aliens are not permitted to use the stand deduct
- an individual who fiels a tax return for less than 12 months bc of a change in the taxpayers annual accounting period is not permitted to use the stand deduct
itemized deductions
taxpayer may choose to deduct specific allowable itemized deductions rather than the stand deduct
- they are BTLD or from AGI, & are clainmed on Schedule A when they exceed the total stand deduction and thus reduce taxable income more than the stand deduct
partial list of itemized deductions
what is the maximum total of state and local income taxes, real property on home & property taxes based on the value of a car combined?
what # can they not exceed, its $10,000
personal exemptions
- TCJA 2017 suspended personal exemptinos untl tax years beginning after Dec 31, 2025
- they come back in 2026
qualified business income (QBI) deduction
- subject to certain limitations, the deduction = 20% of qualified business income
- this deduction is not an itemized deductionand may not be deducted in calculating AGI
- is a BTLD that is not impacted by the standard deduction
taxable income
- the tax base upon which the income tax is calculated
- determined by reducing the taxpayers AGI by (1) the greater of the standard deduction or the taxpayers itemized deductions & (2) the QBI, or Section 199A deduction
tax rates on taxable income
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- the income tax is determined by applying certain tax rates to taxable income
- aftert 2017, the tax rates range from 7 - 37% (not including any applicable Affordable Care Act surtaxes)
- the amount of taxable income subject to tax at each rate (each tax bracket) depends on the filing status of the taxpayer
marginal tax rate
the highest bracket in whcih the taxpayer falls
- this is the rate that will apply to the next dollar of income earned
effective (average) tax rate
- the average rate of tax paid, factoring in the payments at various marginal brackets
additional standard deductions (can be 1 or both of them)
- allowed for taxpayer & spouse (not dependent)
- age 65 or older
- blind
self-employed earned income
the income earned by a self-employed person & certain other business and investment inceom is not subject to tax withholding by an employer
estimated tax payments
taxpayer with income not subject to withholding is often requried to may estimated tax payemtns to the treasury department quarterly
other tax credits
these are allowed to reduce the tax calculated on taxable income:
(insert table from page 79 here)
Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings
when you put $ into a retirement account & you’re married & your income is below $73,000, you get to claim a 20% credit
basic rules of income taxation
- accounting periods
- tax accounting methods
- filing status
- personal and dependency exemptions (repealed TCJA 2017)
- standard dedution for a dependent
- kiddie tax
- filing requirements
tax accounting periods
tax periods
- tax year is normally 12 months
- individuals use calendar year
- some taxpayers (usually businesses) use fiscal year
tax accounting methods
accounting methods
- cash receipts & disbursements (cash method)
- applies to individual taxpayers
- accrual method
- hybrid method
tax year
52-53 week tax year may end on a specified day of the week that falls closest to the last day of the last month of the tax year for reporting purposes
tax accounting methods
method must be used consistently for year to year unless a format change in accounting method is made.
such changes would require:
- the approval of the IRS
- income adjustments in the year of the change
what do taxpayers with more than 1 business do tax accounting method wise?
a taxpayer who owns more than one business is allowed to select a different overall accounting method for each business
accounting methods
cash receipt and disbursement (cash) method
- most individuals use this method
- income items (or revenues) are reported on a tax return for the year in which they are RECEIVED in cash & expenses are deducted in the year in which they are PAID with cash
- “cash” includes:
- currency, checks, & similar payments & payments made via debt transactions (using credit card)
cash receipt and disbursement (cash) method
what are the exceptions that apply to the cash method of accounting?
- the doctrine of constructive receipt
- original issue discount bonds
- cash received with an obligation to repay
exceptions that apply to the cash method of accounting
the doctrine of constructive receipt
under the cash receipt and disbursement (cash) method
one of the three key tax principles,states that a cash method taxpayer must report income when its constructively received.
- constructive receipts occur when income is credited to a taxpayers account or when it is made available to the taxpayer without restriction
- taxpayer does NOT NEED to take possession of income for it to be contructively received
underlies most of the retirement planning rules, and must be avoidedto allow defferal of income
exceptions that apply to the cash method of accounting
original issue discount bonds (OID)
under the cash receipt and disbursement (cash) method
- a special application of constructive receipt more commonly known as a “zero coupon bond”
- the interest that accrues on the bond each year is deemed to be constructively received by the taxpayer and is included in the taxpayers income
- OID’s generate phantom income
exceptions that apply to the cash method of accounting
cash received with an obligation to repay
under the cash receipt and disbursement (cash) method
if a taxpayer receives cash, but has an obligation to repay the payor, the cash is not included in gross income
- may occur when a landlord receives a deposit for an apartment
- if landlord has an obligation to return the deposit when the renter moves out, the cash received is not included in gross income
- if deposit is really a form of prepaid rent, it must be recognized as gross income
accrual method of accounting
many businesses uses accrual method since it providesa better match between income and the expenses associated with producing that income than the cash receipts and disbursements method of accounting
- income (revenue) is normally reported when it is earned, & expenses are normally deducted when they are incurred
The “All Events” test is commonly used to determine income inclusion (income is includible when all events occurred that:
- fix the taxpayers right to receive the income
- allow the amount of income to be determined with reasonable accuracy