DUE ON APRIL 10th at 11:59PMClass Project (15% of Final Grade)
ACCT 4300.004 Sharma SP 24
Complete a tax research memo. It will be graded on accurately and insightfully analyzing the
given facts with proper tax law and citation, as well as presentation (clarity and conciseness of
the writing). I have included a list of sources you can use at the end along with a sample tax
memo.
There are 2 scenarios to choose from. PICK ONE for your project:
SCENARIO 1
Julie (married) just made partner at a local accounting firm. She receives a salary of $120,000.
She decides to purchase a property in Florida that she will put on rent. She would also like to
treat this as a vacation home and have it available to rent by night when she is not there. She
will receive $175 per night from the property when it is rented. Julie will also hire a cleaning
company that will come after each guest. Some other expenses include additional supplies,
maintenance, and depreciation of this second home. There is a mortgage on the house and
annual property taxes will also need to be paid. Her AGI before considering any of these items
was $97,000. Using the tax law, determine how these items will affect her taxes.
SCENARIO 2
Jessie (single) recently graduated from UNT with an Accounting degree. He got a job working as
an accountant for a large accounting firm. He receives a salary of $95,000. The company that
hired him, paid for a course to help him prepare for the CPA exams. If he had paid for the
course himself, it would have cost him $2,500. His company also paid him for all the CPA exam
and state filing fees, which totaled $1,200. Jessie contributes 3% his salary towards a company
sponsored 401k plan. His company matches up to 3% of employee contributions. His AGI before
considering any of these items was $62,000. Using the tax law, determine how these items will
affect his taxes.
Grading Rubric:
25 pts
Content
15 pts
Format
60 pts
Analysis
Include all 5 sections of a Tax Research Memo:
Facts, Issues, Authority, Conclusion, Analysis
Follow the format of sample memo (below).
The entire research memo should be 2-3 pages
double spaced.
Use at least 3 authorities and explain how they
support your conclusion. At least 2 of the 3
resources should be primary resources.
5 points for each section
5 points for format
10 points for page length
20 points for each
authority and
explanation
DUE ON APRIL 10th at 11:59PM
Here is a list of primary and secondary resources. You can use resources outside of this list too.
Primary Resources:
Federal Internal Revenue Code : http://uscode.house.gov
Federal Tax Regulations : www.ecfr.gov
Internal Revenue Service : www.irs.gov
Joint Committee on Taxation : www.jct.gov
United States Supreme Court : www.supremecourt.gov
United States Tax Court : http://ustaxcourt.gov
State (Texas)
Comptroller of Public Accounts : www.window.state.tx.us
Texas Constitution and Statutes : www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us
Secondary Resources:
AICPA Tax Section : www.aicpa.org/InterestAreas/Tax
Council on State Taxation : www.cost.org
Federation of Tax Administrators : www.taxadmin.org/fta/default.html
Institute for Professionals in Taxation : www.ipt.org
Multistate Tax Commission : www.mtc.gov
Supreme Court of the United States Blog : www.scotusblog.com
Tax Executives Institute : www.tei.org
Tax Foundation : http://taxfoundation.org
Tax Policy Center : www.taxpolicycenter.org
TaxProf Blog : www.taxprof.typepad.com
Tax Resources on the Web : http://taxtopics.net
Texas Society of CPAs : www.tscpa.org
Texas State & Local Tax Law Blog : www.txsaltlaw.com
TTARA (Texas Taxpayers and Research Association) : www.ttara.org
U.S. Chamber of Commerce : www.uschamber.com/taxes
DUE ON APRIL 10th at 11:59PM
Sample Research Memo
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Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
