Shortly after moving into the new home, Kate started a new business called Kate’s Beauty Cuts LLC. She set up shop in a 384-square-foot corner room of the couple’s home and began to get it ready for business. The room conveniently had a door to the outside, providing customers direct access to the shop. Kate paid $2,500 to have the carpet replaced with a tile floor. She also paid $1,400 to have the room painted with vibrant colors and $850 to have the room rewired for appropriate lighting. Kate ran an ad in the local newspaper and officially opened her shop on January 24, 2020. By the end of the year, Kate’s Beauty Cuts LLC generated $44,000 of net income before considering the home office deduction. The Sawyers incurred the following home-related expenditures during 2020:

• $5,200 of real property taxes.
• $2,500 for homeowner’s insurance.
• $3,400 for electricity.
• $2,500 for gas and other utilities.

They determined depreciation expense for their entire house was $17,944.

Also, on March 2, Kate was able to finally sell her one-bedroom Manhattan condominium for $488,000. She purchased the condo, which she had lived in for six years prior to her marriage, for $225,000.

Kate owns a vacation home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. She purchased the home several years ago, largely as an investment. To help cover the expenses of maintaining the home, James and Kate decided to rent the home out. They rented the home for a total of 106 days at fair market value (this included eight days that they rented the home to James’s brother Jack). In addition to the 106 days, Kate allowed a good friend and customer, Clair, to stay in the home for half-price for two days. James and Kate stayed in the home for six days for a romantic getaway and another three days in order to do some repair and maintenance work on the home. The rental revenues from the home in 2020 were $18,600. The Sawyers incurred the following expenses associated with the home.

• $9,300 of interest (assume not limited by acquisition debt limit).
• $3,600 of real property taxes.
• $2,100 for homeowner’s insurance.
• $1,400 for electricity.
• $1,800 for gas, other utilities, and landscaping.
• $5,700 for depreciation.

Required:

Determine the Sawyers’ taxable income for 2020. Disregard self-employment taxes and the qualified business income deduction. Assume the couple paid $4,600 in state income taxes and files a joint return. For determining deductible home office expenses and allocating expenses to the rental, the Sawyers would like to use the methods that minimize their overall taxable income for the year.