Ethics

1. Bobby Reynolds, a new client of yours, is a self-employed caterer in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bobby drives his personal van when delivering catered meals to customers. You have asked him to provide the amount of business miles driven using his vehicle. You are planning on using the standard mileage method to calculate Bobbys deduction for transportation costs. Bobby has responded by saying, Well, I dont really keep track of my miles. I guess I drove around 3,000 miles last year for the business. What would you say to Bobby?

Research

2. Your supervisor has asked you to research a potential tax deduction for a client, Randall Stevens. Randall is a self-employed loan agent that lives in Portland, Maine. His specialty is marine loans; in particular, loans for the renovation of classic boats. Over the years, Randall has developed a very unique expertise in valuation of classic boats and is considered a global expert in the field. In 2021, Randall is hoping to attend the North American Classic Marine Boat Show that takes place in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Randall attends the show more or less every year in order to stay current on classic boat valuations. Interested parties from around the world attend the show in the quaint Mexican coastal town. Randalls costs to attend are $800 for show registration, $1,750 for airfare from Portland to Zihuatanejo, $2,400 for lodging. Meals are estimated at $600. Please prepare a letter for Randall that describes the issues he will face when attempting to deduct the cost of attending the show. Use IRS Publication 463 to assist you.