Consider the following letter and answer Shadys question.

To my friendly student tax preparer:

Hello, my name is Shady Slim. I understand you are going to help me figure out my gross income for the year . . . whatever that means. Its been a busy year and Im a busy man, so let me give you the lowdown on my life and you can do your thing.

I was unemployed at the beginning of the year and got $2,000 in unemployment compensation. I later got a job as a manager for Roca Cola. I earned $56,500 in base salary this year. My boss gave me a $5,600 Christmas bonus check on December 22. I decided to hold on to that check and not cash it until next year, so I wont have to pay taxes on it this year. Pretty smart, huh? My jobs pretty cool. I get a lot of fringe benefits like a membership to the gym that costs $430 a year and all the Roca Cola I can drink, although I cant really drink a whole lotI figure $40 worth this year, which the accountant at confirmed is a qualified (de minimis) fringe benefit.

I bet on a football game with some of the guys at work, and I won Corvette! The Corvette cost $56,000. On top of that, I had more good luck this year. Upon leaving my office one day, I found $8,300 lying in the street! Well, one persons bad luck is my good luck, right?

I like to gamble a lot. I won a $27,900 poker tournament in Las Vegas this year. I also won about $5,120 over the year playing the guys at our Friday night poker game. Can you believe that I didnt lose anything this year?

Speaking of the guys, one of them hit me with his car as we were leaving the game one night. He must have been pretty ticked that he lost! I broke my right leg and my left arm. I sued the guy and got $12,200 for my medical expenses, $3,300 to pay my psychotherapist for the emotional problems I had relating to the injuries (I got really depressed!), and I won $12,600 in punitive damages. Thatll teach him that hes not so tough without his car!

Another bit of bad luck. My uncle Monty died this year. I really liked the guy, but the $230,000 inheritance I received from him made me feel a little better about the loss. I did the smart thing with the money and invested it in stocks and bonds and socked a little into my savings account. As a result, I received $630 in dividends from the stock, $230 in interest from the municipal bonds, and $330 in interest from my savings account.

My ex-wife, Alice, is still paying me alimony. Shes a lawyer who divorced me in 2015 because I was unethical or something like that. Since she was making so much money and I was unemployed at the time, the judge ruled that she had to pay me alimony. She sent me $3,600 in alimony payments this year. She also sent me a check for $530 as a Christmas gift this year. I didnt get her anything, though.

So there you go. Thats this year in a nutshell. Can you figure out my gross income? And since youre a student, this is free, right? Thanks, I owe you one! Let me know if I can get you a six-pack of Roca Cola or something.

a. Calculate the gross income. Inclusions in Gross Income Amount Total gross income