Reference no: EM133660632

Assignment

I. Your client, Barney Green, and his wife, Edith, attended a two-day conference in Maui related to Barry's work in architecture as a sole proprietor. The Greens went to Hawaii several days early so that they could adjust to the jet lag and be ready for the conference. The $8,000 cost of the trip included the following expenses:

First-class airfare$2,500
Hotel (seven days)2,000
Conference fee2,000
Meals1,500

The Greens have records to substantiate all the above expenditures in a manner that is acceptable under IRC § 274.

1. List as many possible tax research issues as you can to determine whether the Greens can deduct any or all of the $8,000 of expenditures on their current-year tax return.

2. After completing your list of tax research issues, list the keywords you might use to construct an online tax research query.

3. Execute an online search using your query. For simplicity, select the IRS Publications database from whichever online tax service you use. Summarize your findings

II. Linda Larue has arthritis. Her chiropractor advised her that she needed to swim daily to alleviate her pain and other symptoms. Consequently, Linda and her husband, Philo, purchased for $400,000 a new home that had a swimming pool, after selling their old home for $325,000. If the Larues had constructed a pool at their former residence, it would have cost $75,000 to build, and it would have increased the value of their home by $50,000.

1. List as many possible tax research issues as you can to determine whether the Larues can deduct any of their current-year expenditures for Linda's arthritis.

2. After completing your list of tax research issues, list the keywords you might use to construct an online tax research query.

3. Execute an online search using your query. For simplicity, select the IRS Revenue Rulings database from whichever online tax service you use. Summarize your findings.

III. Trevor recently purchased a beautiful house on a hillside in sunny California at a cost of $1 million. Several days of heavy rainfall led to heavy flooding and landslides throughout the region. A week later, the president announces that Trevor's county is a federally declared disaster area. During the storm, Trevor is surprised to see his neighbor's house disappear in a mudslide. Visibly shaken, Trevor makes immediate efforts to sell his home. Although the view from his lot has improved considerably, he meets severe buyer resistance when forced to explain why he lacks one set of neighbors. Trevor's best offer, made by a family just arrived in town, is $500,000. Trevor reevaluates his life insurance portfolio, places his personal affairs in order, and decides not to sell. Presuming the landslide caused no physical damage to his property, does Trevor have a casualty loss?a.List as many possible tax research issues as you can to determine Trevor's potential casualty-loss deduction from the decrease in value of his house.b.After completing your list of tax research issues, list the keywords you might use to construct an online tax research query.c.Execute an online search using your query. For simplicity, select the IRS Publications database from whichever online tax service you use. Summarize your findings.