WILL GIVE THUMBS UP FOR ATTEMPT

Alice J. and Bruce M. Byrd are married taxpayers who file a joint return. Their Social Security numbers are 123-45-6784 and 111-11-1113, respectively. Alices birthday is September 21, 1971, and Bruces is June 27, 1970. They live at 473 Revere Avenue, Lowell, MA 01850. Alice is the office manager for Lowell Dental Clinic, 433 Broad Street, Lowell, MA 01850 (employer identification number 98-7654321). Bruce is the manager of a Super Burgers fast-food outlet owned and operated by Plymouth Corporation, 1247 Central Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788 (employer identification number 11-1111111).

The following information is shown on their Wage and Tax Statements (Form W2) for 2019.

Line	Description	Alice	Bruce
1	Wages, tips, other compensation	$58,000	$62,100
2	Federal income tax withheld	4,500	5,300
3	Social Security wages	58,000	62,100
4	Social Security tax withheld	3,596	3,850
5	Medicare wages and tips	58,000	62,100
6	Medicare tax withheld	841	900
15	State	Massachusetts Massachusetts
16	State wages, tips, etc.	58,000	62,100
17	State income tax withheld	2,950	3,100

The Byrds provide over half of the support of their two children, Cynthia (born January 25, 1995, Social Security number 123-45-6788) and John (born February 7, 1999, Social Security number 123-45-6780). Both children are full-time students and live with the Byrds except when they are away at college. Cynthia earned $6,200 from a summer internship in 2019, and John earned $3,800 from a part-time job. Both children received scholarships covering tuition and materials.

During 2019, the Byrds provided 60% of the total support of Bruces widower father, Sam Byrd (born March 6, 1943, Social Security number 123-45-6787). Sam lived alone and covered the rest of his support with his Social Security benefits. Sam died in November, and Bruce, the beneficiary of a policy on Sams life, received life insurance proceeds of $1,600,000 on December 28.

The Byrds had the following expenses relating to their personal residence during 2019:

Property taxes	$5,000
Qualified interest on home mortgage	8,700
(acquisition indebtedness)
Utilities	4,100
Repairs	1,000

Fire and theft insurance

1,900

The Byrds had the following medical expenses for 2019:

Medical insurance premiums	$4,xxx (last 3 digits of your student ID)
Operation for Sam	8,500
Prescription medicines for Sam	900
Hospital expenses for Sam	3,500
Reimbursement from insurance company,	3,600
received in 2019

Other relevant information follows:

• When they filed their 2018 state return in 2019, the Byrds paid additional state income tax of $900.

• During 2019, Alice and Bruce attended a dinner dance sponsored by the Lowell Police Disability Association (a qualified charitable organization). The Byrds paid $300 for the tickets. The cost of comparable entertainment would normally be $50.

• The Byrds contributed $5,xxx (last 3 digits of your student ID) cash to Lowell Presbyterian Church.

• Via a crowdfunding site (gofundme.com), Alice and Bruce made a gift to a needy family who lost their home in a fire ($400). In addition, they made several cash gifts to homeless individuals downtown (estimated to be $65).

• In 2019, the Byrds received interest income of $2,750, which was reported on a Form 1099INT from Second National Bank, 125 Oak Street, Lowell, MA 01850 (Employer Identification Number 98-7654322).

• In 2019, the Byrds aslo received interest income of $1,000 from municipal bonds.

• The home mortgage interest was reported on Form 1098 by Lowell Commercial Bank, P.O. Box 1000, Lowell, MA 01850 (Employer Identification Number 98-7654323). The mortgage (outstanding balance of $425,000 as of January 1, 2019) was taken out by the Byrds on May 1, 2015.
• The couple spent a weekend in Atlantic City in November and came home with gross gambling loss of $1,200 (no other gambling activities during the year).
• The Byrds do not keep the receipts for the sales taxes they paid and had no major purchases subject to sales tax.
• All members of the Byrd family had health insurance coverage for all of 2019.

• Alice and Bruce paid no estimated Federal income tax.