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ACCT 3531 - Federal Taxes on Income

Spring 2014

Dr. David Ryan

CONTACT: Office: Alter Hall Room 459; phone: 215-204-8131; e-mail: ryan@temple.edu.

Office hours: See course information page on Bb.COURSE OBJECTIVE: This course is intended to provide an introduction to the concepts andlogic underlying federal income tax law. Emphasis will be given to the determination of income

and allowable deductions for both individual and business entity taxpayers. The course also

integrates some financial accounting and finance theory with federal tax law. Consequently, it isimportant for students to have a sound grasp of the basics of financial accounting and it is

required that students complete at least one course in intermediate accounting before taking this

course.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Understand and apply the fundamentals of tax planning, with emphasis on net cash flow.

Understand how business taxable income is computed.

Understand how gains and losses on sales and exchanges of property are computed and taxed.

Understand how income earned by a sole proprietorship, partnership, tax option corporation and

regular corporation is taxed.

Understand the similarities and differences of income taxation for various business entities and

determination of choice of entity.

Understand and reconcile the differences between financial net income and corporate taxableincome.

Understand the general framework for taxable income of individuals.

Understand important issues in the taxation of compensation and investment income forindividuals.

PRE-REQUISITES: A grade of C or better in Intermediate Accounting I. Please note thatthe Department of Accounting enforcesprerequisites and will cancel any students registration

for an accounting course if the student does not meet the course prerequisites. If you do not meet

the prerequisites, you must obtain my permission to take this course. You will need to convinceme that you have sufficient preparation for the course.

DISABILITY RESOURCES: Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the

impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss the specific situation. You should

also contact Disability Resources and Services at 215-204-1280 in 100 Ritter Annex.

TEXT & COURSE MATERIALS:

Text: Principles of Taxation for Business and Investment Planning, 2014 Editionby Sally Jones& Shelly Rhoades-Catanach [McGraw Hill Irwin, publisher].

Lecture outlines and other materials for your use in this course are available on the course

webpage on the University's web-based Blackboard. You can access blackboard from TU

Portal. Contact me if you are not yet registered in the blackboard course

There is much tax information available on the Internet today. Some examples: Review

mailto:ryan@temple.edumailto:ryan@temple.edumailto:ryan@temple.edu

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information on current federal legislation and recent bills (including tax bills) at the Library of

Congress site http://thomas.loc.gov Obtain tax forms, instructions and access other tax

materials from IRS' homepage at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/ . Your textbook's homepage hasupdates of the most tax law changes, supplemental course materials and many links to interesting

tax siteshttp://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/2013.

COURSE FORMAT: We will cover chapter 1, parts of chapters 3 & 4, chapters 6 through 12,chapters 14 and 15 and parts of chapter 16 in the text. FYI, chapter 17 provides usefulinformation on individual taxation and chapter 18 provides some background on the tax

compliance process and I highly recommended that you read them. I think you will

personally find this information very useful.

In order for effective learning to take place, it is important for students to prepare for each classand to participate in class discussion. Effective preparation includes reading assigned material

and completing assigned problems. Chapters that should be read before class are listed on the

course schedule. THIS IS A HOMEWORK INTENSIVE CLASS AND YOU WILL NEED

TO READ THE TEXTBOOK IN ORDER TO COMPLETE MUCH OF IT.

EXAMS: There will be two term exams and a final. The term exams will cover chapters asindicated on the course schedule; the final will cover the last part of the course and may include

material from earlier parts of the course. Please understand that taxation is cumulative and what

we study and learn in the first months of the course will be incorporated in the later parts of thecourse. You may bring one sheet of notes (front and back, written or typed, 8 1/2 by 11 paper) to

the exams. Each student must bring his or her own. See the course schedule for exam dates.

You may also bring a calculator (but NOT a cell phone or similar device) to the exams.

MAKE-UP POLICY: Make-up exams will not be given. If there is some compelling reason for

missing an exam, alternative arrangements for taking the exam may be made at my discretion. Itis the student's responsibility to contact me BEFORE the scheduled exam date.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS: Application problems and cases are assigned from your

textbook. The application problems test your understanding of the chapter material; the casesencourage you to think critically and prospectively about tax issues.

These assignments are posted on Bb under the Assignments tab; their due dates are listed on the

class schedule. Homework will not be collected. However, you are expected to complete ALL

of them before class. You will be called upon in class to discuss or answer them. Part of yourcourse grade is based on class attendance and participation. YOU WILL NEED TO READ

THE TEXTBOOK IN ORDER TO ANSWER MANY OF THE TEXTBOOK

PROBLEMS. BE PREPARED& be ready to answer textbook assignments in class whencalled upon. . If you do not understand something, ask - in class, by email or in office hours. I

will be glad to help.

TAX RETURN PROJECT: The comprehensivetax compliance project is a form of take-homeexam and it mirrors closely what many accountants do in practice. You are required to complete

a corporate tax return using financial accounting information. You may form a collaborative

group of 2to complete this project. While you may use your textbook, notes, and any other

materials, you must complete this work on your own. I will be glad to assist and advise if you

need help or have questions. You are not allowed to seek outside help to complete this

project. You are not allowed to discuss the project in any way with fellow students or any

others!!! Any and all discussion between students (except between the group of 2) is strictly

http://thomas.loc.gov/http://thomas.loc.gov/http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078025486/information_center_view0/http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078025486/information_center_view0/http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078025486/information_center_view0/http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0078025486/information_center_view0/http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/http://thomas.loc.gov/

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prohibited. The project requires you to take a companys GAAP basis trial balance to produce

GAAP financial statements and a completed tax basis corporate tax (form 1120) form. You can

obtain IRS forms from the IRS homepage. The information for this project and the exact

requirementsare posted on the course Blackboard site. It is divided into 2 parts. See the course

schedule for the due date for each part.

ATTENDANCE: You are expected to attend every class and attendance will be taken ateach class meeting. A portion of your final grade (25 points, about 8 1/3%) will be based on yourattendance & participation in class. Be there and be ready to answer when I call on you and you

will earn the full 25 points. Miss class or not be ready to answer when I call on you, you will

earn only some OR NONE of the 25 points.

INCOMPLETE POLICY: This course will follow University and Department of Accountingpolicy which states that an incomplete be given only when a student misses a final exam or fails

to complete a required assignment due to illness or family emergency. The student must be

passing the course at the time that the incomplete is assigned and the incomplete must be

satisfied within one year.

GRADING: Grades in this course will be based on a total of 400 points [3 exams @ 100 pointseach, the tax return project @75 points and class participation and attendance @ 25 points] and

assigned based on attaining the following point totals:

A 372 B+ 346 B- 320 C 288 D 240

A- 360 B 328 C+ 306 C- 280 F