Solution Manual for McGraw-Hill's Taxation of Individuals 2024 Edition, 15th Edition By Brian Spilker, Benjamin Ayers, All Chapters 1

Solution Manual
McGraw-Hill's Taxation of Individuals 2024 Edition,
15th Edition by Spilker, Ayers, All Chapters 1 - 14

,TABLE OF CONTENTS tk tk tk




Part I: Introduction to Taxation
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Chapter 1: An Introduction to Tax
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Chapter 2: Tax Compliance, the IRS, and Tax Authorities
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Chapter 3: Tax Planning Strategies and Related Limitations
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Part II: Basic Individual Taxation
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Chapter 4: Individual Income Tax Overview, Dependents, and Filing Status
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Chapter 5: Gross Income and Exclusions
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Chapter 6: Individual Deductions
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Chapter 7: Investments
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Chapter 8: Individual Income Tax Computation and Tax Credits
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Part III: Business-Related Transactions
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Chapter 9: Business Income, Deductions, and Accounting Methods
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Chapter 10: Property Acquisition and Cost Recovery
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Chapter 11: Property Dispositions
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Part IV: Specialized Topics
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Chapter 12: Compensation
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Chapter 13: Retirement Savings and Deferred Compensation
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Chapter 14: Tax Consequences of Home Ownership
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,Chapter 1
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An Introduction to Tax
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Discussion Questions tk




(1) [LO 1] Jessica’s friend Zachary once stated that he couldn’t understand why
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someone would take a tax course. Why is this a rather naïve view?
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Taxes are a part of everyday life and have a financial effect on many of the major perso
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nal decisions that individuals face (e.g., investment decisions, evaluating alternative jo
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b offers, saving for education expenses, gift or estate planning, etc.).
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(2) [LO 1] What are some aspects of business that require knowledge of taxation? Wh
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at are some aspects of personal finance that require knowledge of taxation?
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Taxes play an important role in fundamental business decisions such as the following:
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• What organizational form should a business use? tk tk tk tk tk tk



• Where should the business locate? tk tk tk tk



• How should business acquisitions be structured? tk tk tk tk tk



• How should the business compensate employees? tk tk tk tk tk



• What is the appropriate mix of debt and equity for the business? tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk



• Should the business rent or own its equipment and property? tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk



• How should the business distribute profits to its owners? tk tk tk tk tk tk tk tk



One must consider all transaction costs (including taxes) to evaluate the merits of a tra
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nsaction.

Common personal financial decisions that taxes influence include: choosing investm
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ents, retirement planning, choosing to rent or buy a home, evaluating alternative job o
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ffers, saving for education expenses, and doing gift or estate planning.
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(3) [LO 1] Describe some ways in which taxes affect the political process in the Uni
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ted States.tk




U.S. presidential candidates often distinguish themselves from their opponents
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, based upon their tax rhetoric. Likewise, the major political parties generally have very
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diverse views of the appropriate way to tax the public. Determining who is taxed, wha
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t is taxed, and how much is taxed are difficult questions. Voters must have a basic und
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erstanding of taxes to evaluate the merits of alternative tax proposals offered by oppo
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sing political candidates and their political parties.
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(4) [LO 2] Courtney recently received a speeding ticket on her way to the university. Her
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fine was $200. Is this considered a tax? Why or why not?
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The $200 speeding ticket is not considered a tax. Instead, it is considered a fine or p
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enalty. Taxes differ from fines and penalties because taxes are not intended to puni
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sh or prevent illegal behavior.
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(5) [LO 2] Marlon and Latoya recently started building a house. They had to pay
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$300 to the county government for a building permit. Is the $300 payment a tax? Why
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or why not? tk tk




The building permit is not considered a tax because $300 payment is directly linked to
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a benefit that they received (i.e., the ability to build a house).
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(6) [LO 2] To help pay for the city’s new stadium, the city of Birmingham recently enac
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ted a 1 percent surcharge on hotel rooms. Is this a tax? Why or why not?
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The 1 percent surcharge is a tax. The 1 percent surcharge is an earmarked tax –
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i.e., collected for a specific purpose. The surcharge is considered a tax because the ta
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x payments made by taxpayers do not directly relate to the specific benefit received by
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the taxpayers.
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(7) [LO 2] As noted in Example 1- tk tk tk tk tk tk



2, tolls, parking meter fees, and annual licensing fees are not considered taxes. Can
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you identify other fees that are similar?
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There are several possible answers to this question. Some common examples include
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kentrance fees to national parks, tag fees paid to local/state government for automobi
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les, boats, etc. tk tk




(8) [LO 2] If the general objective of our tax system is to raise revenue, why does the inco
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me tax allow deductions for charitable contributions and retirement plan contributio
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ns?

In addition to the general objective of raising revenue, Congress uses the federal tax s
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ystem to encourage certain behavior and discourage other behavior. The charitable co
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ntribution deduction is intended to encourage taxpayers to support the initiatives of c
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haritable organizations, whereas deductions for retirement contributions are intende
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d to encourage retirement savings. Another objective of the tax system is to redistrib
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ute wealth. tk