Comprehensive Tax Return Practice Sets | 2027 Edition
Solution and Answer Guide: Young, Persellin, Nellen, Cuccia, Cripe, Lassar, Maloney, SWFT Comprehensive Volume
2027, 9798214057934; Appendix F: Practice Set Assignments—Comprehensive Tax Return Problems
Solution and Answer Guide
YOUNG, PERSELLIN, NELLEN, CUCCIA, CRIPE, LASSAR, MALONEY, SWFT COMPREHENSIVE
VOLUME 2027, 9798214057934; APPENDIX F: PRACTICE SET ASSIGNMENTS—COMPREHENSIVE
TAX RETURN PROBLEMS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Problem 1 Solutions ...............................................................................................................1
Problem 2 Solutions ............................................................................................................. 4
PROBLEM 1 SOLUTIONS
1. Christopher reports his taxable compensation of $85,000 on Line 1 of Form 1040. This
includes his salary of $105,200 and the $6,000 bonus he received in 2025 (because he
is a cash basis taxpayer). This sum is reduced by his $19,000 contribution to his
§ 401(k) plan (taxation is deferred until he takes distributions from the plan) and
$7,200 of health insurance premium payments. Because these premiums were paid
with pre-tax dollars, these costs are not included on Schedule A as qualifying medical
expenses. The cost of commuting from home to work and back home again is a
personal expense, so Christopher is not permitted to claim a deduction for his
commuting mileage.
2. Ashley reports her income from her sole proprietorship on Schedule C (Form 1040).
Her consulting income of $72,000 is reported on Part I of Schedule C. Since she uses
the cash method of accounting for tax purposes, she includes the $3,000 receipt for
work done in 2024 but not the $5,000 she billed for 2025 work that she has not yet
collected. The $6,400 uncollected receivable from 2023 cannot be deducted as a bad
debt because Ashley has no basis in the item. (She never recognized that income in a
prior year.)
Her total deductible business expenses are $17,474:
• Line 9 Car expenses of $658 for mileage (940 miles × $0.70 standard business
mileage rate)
• Line 13 Depreciation of $800 on the fireproof safe (from Form 4562, see item 3)
• Line 22 Supplies of $8,000 ($4,800 drafting supplies + $3,200 reproduction
materials)
• Line 23 Taxes and licenses of $500
• Line 27b Other expenses of $1,250 (detailed in Part V of Schedule C, page 2, as
Dues and subscriptions $390 and Uniforms $860)
• Line 30 Home office deduction of $6,266 (see item 3)
Net profit from the sole proprietorship is $54,526 on Line 31, Schedule C (Form 1040).
Because Ashley is self-employed, she computes self-employment tax of $7,704 using
Schedule SE (Form 1040). This tax is reported on Line 4 of Schedule 2 (Form 1040).
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, Solution and Answer Guide: Young, Persellin, Nellen, Cuccia, Cripe, Lassar, Maloney, SWFT Comprehensive Volume
2027, 9798214057934; Appendix F: Practice Set Assignments—Comprehensive Tax Return Problems
Half of the self-employment tax of $3,852 is deductible on Line 15 of Schedule 1 (Form
1040). Ashley has a qualified business income deduction of $10,135 [(net profit of
$54,526 – deductible half of self-employment tax of $3,852) × 20%], which is
computed on Form 8995 and reported on Line 13a of Form 1040.
3. Ashley computes the deduction for her home office on Form 8829. Computations in
Part I show that 12.50% of the home’s living area is devoted to business use (300
square feet of office space compared to 2,400 total square feet in the home).
Computations in Part II differentiate between direct costs (painting expense of $1,250
reported on Line 20) and indirect costs associated with the home which need to be
prorated. Indirect costs include mortgage interest ($9,700 on Line 10), real estate taxes
($14,100 on Line 11), insurance ($3,200 on Line 18), repairs and maintenance ($1,800 on
Line 20), and utilities ($6,200 on Line 21). Depreciation on the home of $641 is
computed in Part III on the prorated business-use adjusted basis for the house of
$25,000 ($200,000 × 12.50%) multiplied by 2.564% (the MACRS depreciation rate for
39-year nonresidential real property for the recovery period of 2–39 years). The total
home office deduction of $6,266 is reported on Line 36 of Form 8829 as well as on
Line 30 of Schedule C (Form 1040). Because Ashley prefers to avoid depreciating
capital expenditures over time, she can deduct the $800 spent on the file cabinet via
§ 179 expensing by completing Form 4562 Part I for this acquisition. Alternatively,
Ashley can deduct the cost of the file cabinet via bonus depreciation by completing
Form 4562 Part II for this acquisition. The former tax treatment is illustrated in the
completed tax return, with the resulting deduction reported on Line 13 of Schedule C
(Form 1040).
4. Ashley’s exchange of the Travis County property for the Tarrant County property
qualifies as a like-kind exchange. She reports this transaction on Form 8824.
Information about the exchange is reported in Part I of the form. The realized gain,
recognized gain, and basis in the like-kind property received are reported in Part III.
Ashley’s basis in the Travis County property is its fair market value when her uncle
passed away. Ashley must recognize gain of $10,000 on the exchange, the lesser of the
cash received or the realized gain of $160,000. This recognized gain is reported on Line
23 of Form 8824.
5. The installment sale method of accounting generally applies to gains on dispositions of
property if the seller receives at least one part of the purchase price in a year
following the year of sale. Under this method of accounting, recognition of the realized
gain occurs when installment payments are received. Installment sales are reported on
Form 6252. The gross profit from the sale is computed in Part I. Ashley’s $30,000 basis
in the Blanco County land was the fair market value of the property when her uncle
died. Ashley’s gross profit percentage from the sale is computed in Part II to be 75.00%
($90,000 ÷ $120,000), which translates into a gain of $15,000 on the $20,000
installment collected this year. This recognized gain is reported on Line 24 of Form
6252. The gain of $15,000 from the installment sale is combined with the $10,000 gain
from the like-kind exchange (see item 4) to be reported as a long-term capital gain of
$25,000 on Line 11 of Part II of Schedule D (Form 1040).
6. Although Alexis was one of Christopher’s best servers at the restaurant, the loan to
her was a nonbusiness debt since the money was not loaned in connection with
business. A nonbusiness bad debt is treated as a short-term capital loss if it is
uncollectible. To be deductible, however, nonbusiness bad debts must be completely
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, Solution and Answer Guide: Young, Persellin, Nellen, Cuccia, Cripe, Lassar, Maloney, SWFT Comprehensive Volume
2027, 9798214057934; Appendix F: Practice Set Assignments—Comprehensive Tax Return Problems
worthless. Under the circumstances, this requirement appears to be satisfied. The
$5,500 should be reported on Form 8949 Part I with Box C checked. This amount is
carried over to Line 3, Part I of Schedule D (Form 1040), and an explanation for the
nonbusiness bad debt is included in a statement attached to the tax return.
7. Christopher has a $16,000 loss from worthless securities. The worthlessness of these
securities is deduced from the fact that the corporation’s remaining assets were
seized by its creditors. Since the investment is a capital asset and was held for more
than one year, its classification is a long-term capital loss. While December 31, 2025, is
deemed to be the “sale” date (last day of the tax year in which worthlessness is
established), the software enters “Worthless” in Column (c) of Form 8949. The $16,000
is reported on Form 8949 Part II with Box F checked. This amount is carried over to
Line 10, Part II of Schedule D (Form 1040).
8. When Christopher receives repayment of the loan made to his sister, the return of the
principal is not taxable. However, Christopher must report the interest income on Part
I of Schedule B (Form 1040), along with the interest received from the corporate bonds
and the certificate of deposit. Total taxable interest is also reported on Line 2b of
Form 1040. Interest received on the City of Grapevine bonds is not taxable, but it must
still be reported on Line 2a of Form 1040. The qualified dividends are reported in Part
II of Schedule B and on Lines 3a and 3b of Form 1040. The refund from HomeStuff is a
purchase price adjustment. Since the items were purchased for personal use, their
cost is not tax deductible. As such, the tax benefit rule is irrelevant, and the refund is
not a taxable receipt. The gift from Ashley’s parents is a nontaxable receipt so it is
excluded from gross income. Ashley’s contribution of half of her gift to each child’s
§ 529 qualified tuition plan has no current income tax effect to Ashley, nor are these
contributions subject to gift tax because the 2025 annual gift exclusion is $19,000 per
recipient. The Federal income tax refund is not taxable because it is a return of a
previously nondeductible expenditure.
9. Ashley’s contribution to her Roth IRA is not tax deductible.
Gambling winnings and losses cannot be netted for reporting purposes. Gambling
winnings are reported on Line 8b of Schedule 1 (Form 1040). Gambling losses are
itemized deductions. Since gambling losses are limited to gambling winnings, only
$1,200 can be deducted on Line 16 of Schedule A (Form 1040).
Life insurance premiums are not deductible because they are expenditures related to
tax-exempt income (i.e., death benefits).
The $16,600 of out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses should be reported on
Schedule A. No adjustment is necessary for the 2024 expenses paid in 2025 because
the year of payment controls for cash basis taxpayers. Only $5,644 of the expenses are
deductible since that is the excess of the qualified expenses over 7.5% of AGI.
Texas does not have an income tax, so the Millers should claim a sales tax deduction.
Many taxpayers do not save their purchase receipts to document the sales tax they
paid during the year, so they compute their sales tax deduction using the Optional
Sales Tax Tables in the Schedule A instructions. For the Millers, this computation
yields a sales tax deduction of $1,881. Since they can substantiate $1,300 in sales tax
paid during 2025, they should deduct $1,881 on Line 5a of Schedule A (Form 1040). Be
sure the sales tax box on Line 5a is checked.
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, Solution and Answer Guide: Young, Persellin, Nellen, Cuccia, Cripe, Lassar, Maloney, SWFT Comprehensive Volume
2027, 9798214057934; Appendix F: Practice Set Assignments—Comprehensive Tax Return Problems
Since 12.50% of the property taxes and mortgage interest on the home were included
in the home office deduction (see item 3), the remaining property taxes of $12,338
should be deducted on Line 5b of Schedule A (Form 1040), and the remaining mortgage
interest of $8,488 should be deducted on Line 8a of Schedule A (Form 1040).
Regardless of any personal benefits derived, contributions to political campaigns are
not tax deductible. As a result, the charitable contribution deduction on Line 11 of
Schedule A (Form 1040) is limited to the cash contribution to Feeding Texas. Students
can confirm this is a qualified charity by visiting https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ and
entering the organization’s EIN.
Total itemized deductions sum to $38,301 and are claimed on Line 12e of Form 1040.
10. Nicholas meets the definition of a “qualifying child” so he is the Millers’ dependent for
tax purposes. As such, they can deduct medical and dental expenses incurred for his
care. In addition, the Millers can claim a $2,200 child tax credit because Nicholas is
under the age of 17 at year-end. Emma meets the definition of a “qualifying child” so
she is also a dependent for tax purposes. She is considered a full-time student for the
year because she was a full-time student from January through May while she finished
high school. Because she satisfies the qualified child dependent tests, the gross
income test associated with the qualified relative dependent rules do not apply. Since
Emma is a dependent, the Millers can deduct medical and dental expenses incurred
for her care. In addition, they can claim a $500 other dependent tax credit because
Emma is over the age of 16 at year-end.
11. A brief summary of the Millers’ tax return for 2025 follows:
Gross income:
Salary $ 85,000
Schedule B 5,710
Schedule D 3,500
Schedule 1: Schedule C and gambling winnings 55,726
Schedule 1: Deductions for AGI:
Deductible self-employment tax (3,852)
Adjusted gross income $146,084
Itemized deductions (38,301)
Qualified business income deduction (10,135)
Taxable income $ 97,648
Income tax of $10,588 is computed using the Schedule D Tax Worksheet. To this is
added the self-employment tax of $7,704 from Schedule SE. The child tax credit and
credit for other dependents reduces the tax liability by $2,700, yielding Line 24 total
tax of $15,592. Since the Millers paid in a total of $15,800, their overpayment of $208
will be applied to next year’s tax.
PROBLEM 2 SOLUTIONS
1. Kalyan reports compensation of $91,270 on Line 1 of Form 1040, which includes his
salary (net of the medical insurance paid with pre-tax dollars) and the taxable value of
the group term life insurance. BAC’s contribution for Kalyan to the qualified pension
plan is not currently taxable and requires no reporting on Kalyan’s return. The taxable
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