Question
JOSEPH AND DIANA COHEN INDIVIDUAL FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN Joseph (age 52) and Diana (age 54) Cohen are married and live in Pleasantville, New Jersey.
JOSEPH AND DIANA COHEN
INDIVIDUAL FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN
Joseph (age 52) and Diana (age 54) Cohen are married and live in Pleasantville, New Jersey. Joseph is
the Vice-President of Sales at a small start-up company. Diana is a former advertising executive who
currently consults with former clients. The Cohens have three children Rebecca (age 18), Alan (age 15),
and David (age 12). In January, Rebecca left home to attend a liberal arts college. The Cohens pay for
Rebecca's tuition and room in board while she takes classes full time; she is not currently employed.
The Cohens provided the following information:
Joseph's social security number is 598-94-2583
Diana's social security number is 301-52-2942
Rebecca's social security number is 887-44-8710
Alan's social security number is 810-42-9092
David's social security number is 855-11-3021
The Cohen's mailing address is 85 North Maple Drive, Pleasantville, New Jersey 08232
Joseph Cohen reported the following the following information relating to his employment during the
year:
Employer
Gross Wages
Federal Income Tax
Withholding
State Income Tax
Withholding
Alternative Energy
$148,325
$35,230
$8,900
The above amounts do not reflect any income items described below. Joseph's employer withheld all
payroll taxes it was required to withhold. The entire Cohen family was covered by minimum essential
health insurance during each month in 2020. The insurance, valued at $16,000, was provided by
Joseph's employer, Alternative Energy.
Diana Cohen received the following self-employment income during the year (she uses the cash method
of accounting).
Consulting revenue reported to her on a Form 1099-MISC, Box 7
High-end Retail
$32,000
Jensen's Health Products
$8,500
Strategic Solutions
$3,750
In this self-employment endeavor, Diana is an active participant and the activities qualify as trade or
businesses for the Qualified Business Income Deduction. Unfortunately, Diana did not keep records of
any of her business expenses for the year.
The Cohens also received the following during the year:
Interest income from First Bank of New Jersey
$320
Interest income from Patterson, New Jersey School District
$200
Interest income from U.S. Treasury Bond
$350
Interest income from General Mills corporate bond
$400
3
Interest income from the State of Maine's
Tourism Support Private Activity Bond
$50,000
Qualified dividend income from Rio Tinto
$1,500
Qualified dividend income from Microsoft
$750
Qualified dividend income from Cooper Tire
$200
Qualified dividend income from Cardinal Health
$425
Qualified dividend income from Union Pacific
$140
Qualified dividend income from Procter & Gamble
$190
Qualified dividend income from PepsiCo
$225
Qualified dividend income from Kellogg
$200
Qualified dividend income from Abbott Labs
$275
Qualified dividend income from 3M
$350
Life insurance payment - Mutual life (mother's passing)
$150,000
Cash gift from her father
$5,000
New Jersey state income tax refund*
$325
* Refund was from state tax they paid in 2019. They deducted all of their state taxes as itemized
deductions in 2019. Total itemized deductions were $32,000, $3,000 of which were state taxes.
Diana received the following payments as a result of a lawsuit she filed for damages sustained in a car
accident:
Medical Expenses for physical injuries
$16,500
Emotional Distress (from having been physically injured)
$7,300
Punitive Damages
$30,000
Total
$53,800
Eight years ago, Joseph purchased an annuity contract for $88,000. He received his first annuity
payment on January 1, 2020. The annuity will pay Joseph $15,000 per year for ten years (beginning with
this year). The $15,000 payment was reported to Joseph on Form 1099-R for the current year.
On January 3, 2020, the Cohens sold their prior principal residence. They purchased that residence in
2011 and had lived there full-time until they sold it this year. They originally purchased the home for
$310,000. The Cohen family has never claimed any tax depreciation (nor were they allowed to) on the
home. The sales price of the home was $825,000. The home is located at 45 East Entrada Trail,
Lexington New Jersey 40502.
The Cohens took two trips to Atlantic City. While on the first trip they lost $2800 gambling, but on the
second trip they won $2600.
The Cohens did not own, control or manage any foreign bank accounts, nor were they grantors or
beneficiaries of a foreign trust during the tax year.
The Cohens made the following payments during 2020:
Dentist (unreimbursed by insurance)
$1,500
Doctors (unreimbursed by insurance)
$475
Prescriptions (unreimbursed by insurance)
$255
Real property taxes on residence
$4,200
4
Vehicle registration fee (based on age of the vehicle)
$175
Mortgage interest on principle residence
$7,845
Contribution to the American Lung Association
$2,300
Contribution to the Habitat for Humanity
$1,200
Contribution to Methodist Church of NJ
$3,000
Contribution to Senator Rick Hartley's Re-election Campaign
$2,500
During the year, Joseph paid $16,600 in alimony and child support payments to a former spouse, Natalie
(SSN #568-72-8787), whom he divorced in 2014. When his daughter Wendy (SSN #568-72-666), who
lives with her mother full-time, reaches the age of 18 the payments will drop to $5,600.
The Cohens had the following activity in their brokerage account during the year (all transactions were
reported on a Form 1099-B and basis information for each stock sale was reported to the IRS):
Sold 2,000 shares of Microsoft
7/1/20
$22,500
Sold 75 shares of Apple, Inc.
4/15/20
$28,750
Sold 300 shares of Cooper Tire
10/14/20
$14,700
Purchased 100 shares of Procter & Gamble
7/10/20
$7,700
Purchased 350 shares of Cooper Tire
11/1/20
$14,000
Purchased 350 shares of PepsiCo
5/14/20
$32,000
Purchased 300 shares of Kellogg
10/14/20
$21,000
Relevant tax basis/holding period information related to sales of securities in the current year:
Purchased 2,000 shares of Microsoft on 5/1/20 for $21,000
Purchased 200 shares of Apple, Inc. on 3/8/18 for $90,000
Purchased 300 shares of Cooper Tire on 1/12/17 for $9,000
In order for Joseph and Diana to maintain their full-time jobs, they send David to a child care program
after school five days a week. During the year, they paid the day care operator $12,250 for David's care.
The Cohens' personal residence was burglarized on October 1. The Cohens had the following personal-
use property stolen:
Item
Purchase Date
Fair Value on
Date of Theft
Tax Basis of Item
Insurance
Reimbursement
Received
Laptop computer
09/01/2020
3,000
3,000
500
Rifle
03/01/2018
4,000
4,500
500
TV/Projector
03/01/2018
5,000
13,000
1,000
2007 Honda Pilot
07/01/2019
8,000
10,500
500
Total
14,000
25,000
2,500
4
Vehicle registration fee (based on age of the vehicle)
$175
Mortgage interest on principle residence
$7,845
Contribution to the American Lung Association
$2,300
Contribution to the Habitat for Humanity
$1,200
Contribution to Methodist Church of NJ
$3,000
Contribution to Senator Rick Hartley's Re-election Campaign
$2,500
During the year, Joseph paid $16,600 in alimony and child support payments to a former spouse, Natalie
(SSN #568-72-8787), whom he divorced in 2014. When his daughter Wendy (SSN #568-72-666), who
lives with her mother full-time, reaches the age of 18 the payments will drop to $5,600.
The Cohens had the following activity in their brokerage account during the year (all transactions were
reported on a Form 1099-B and basis information for each stock sale was reported to the IRS):
Sold 2,000 shares of Microsoft
7/1/20
$22,500
Sold 75 shares of Apple, Inc.
4/15/20
$28,750
Sold 300 shares of Cooper Tire
10/14/20
$14,700
Purchased 100 shares of Procter & Gamble
7/10/20
$7,700
Purchased 350 shares of Cooper Tire
11/1/20
$14,000
Purchased 350 shares of PepsiCo
5/14/20
$32,000
Purchased 300 shares of Kellogg
10/14/20
$21,000
Relevant tax basis/holding period information related to sales of securities in the current year:
Purchased 2,000 shares of Microsoft on 5/1/20 for $21,000
Purchased 200 shares of Apple, Inc. on 3/8/18 for $90,000
Purchased 300 shares of Cooper Tire on 1/12/17 for $9,000
In order for Joseph and Diana to maintain their full-time jobs, they send David to a child care program
after school five days a week. During the year, they paid the day care operator $12,250 for David's care.
The Cohens' personal residence was burglarized on October 1. The Cohens had the following personal-
use property stolen:
Item
Purchase Date
Fair Value on
Date of Theft
Tax Basis of Item
Insurance
Reimbursement
Received
Laptop computer
09/01/2020
3,000
3,000
500
Rifle
03/01/2018
4,000
4,500
500
TV/Projector
03/01/2018
5,000
13,000
1,000
2007 Honda Pilot
07/01/2019
8,000
10,500
500
Total
14,000
25,000
2,500
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