27. An engineering firm acquired a patent on January 1, 20X1 for $96,000. The patent had an original legal life of 20 years. On January 1, 20X1, when the patent was acquired by the engineering firm, it had a remaining legal life of 12 years. This patent is expected to be of value to the firms operations for the next 8 years, through December 31, 20X8. What is the annual patent amortization expense that will appear on the income statement for the year ended December 31, 20X3?

a. $36,000.

b. $12,000.

$24,000.

$8,000.