This is a four-credit course. There are no prerequisites. No prior background in accounting, economics, math, or finance is needed or expected.
Federal Income Tax (FIT) is an overview of the federal income tax, mostly as it applies to individuals. It covers the fundamental principles of the federal income tax. It will address all the major issues, such as what gross income is, which expenditures are deductible, the appropriate taxable unit, the function of "basis," and the timing of income and deductions. Specific topics will include: employee fringe benefits, business deductions (e.g., travel), hobby losses, personal deductions (e.g., medical expenses and charitable contributions), the exclusions for gifts, bequests, and life insurance proceeds, taxation of the family, the tax treatment of loans, capital expenditures, methods of capital recovery (e.g., installment sales and depreciation), capital gains and losses, tax-free exchanges and rollovers, and tax accounting (e.g., the cash and accrual methods).
The instructor will emphasize use of both the Internal Revenue Code and the Treasury Regulations.
Ascher, Mark L