ACC 401: Federal Individual Income Taxation Summer 2014 Section 601: MTWRF 9 am 10:15 am BusAd E202

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1 University of Hawai i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business ACC 401: Federal Individual Income Taxation Summer 2014 Section 601: MTWRF 9 am 10:15 am BusAd E202 This syllabus is subject to change as the term progresses. Version: May 28, Instructor: Dr. Eric Wen, Lecturer ericwen@hawaii.edu Please begin the Subject Line with: ACC 401 Phone: (no voice messages; please send ) Office: BusAd A401 Office hours: After class or by appointment Prerequisites: ACC 202 or BUS 624 with a C or higher Writing Intensive: Students must adequately complete all writing assignments to pass the course with a D grade or better. Students who do not complete all writing assignments will receive a D or F and will not earn W focus credit. Required: (1) CengageNOW homework system: o You must register with our Course Key 1 (2) No. 2 pencil or HB lead during all quizzes & exams Recommended: (3) Textbook: Individual Income Taxes 2014 Edition by Hoffman and Smigh (South-Western CENGAGE Learning) o Also available as an ebook (digital copy). (4) Simple Calculator: No cell phones, even as a calculator, on exams. (5) Prerequisites: ACC 202 or BUS 624 with a C or better. Students who do not meet these prerequisites will be administratively dropped after the drop/add period and will not be eligible for a tuition refund. COURSE OBJECTIVES After completing this course students should be able to: demonstrate functional competency in basic federal income taxation concepts relating to sole proprietors and other individuals; apply basic tax research skills to access relevant statutory, regulatory, and judicial information; engage in the art of careful reading for mastery of a multitude of tax law complexities; consider tax issues and make professional recommendations cognizant of the weight of legal authority; communicate effectively in writing to audiences with different backgrounds and needs such as clients and partners; show awareness of tax forms, the audit process, and current events in tax. 1 The Course Key for CengageNow will be given in class and on Laulima.

2 STRATEGIES FOR REACHING THE OBJECTIVES RIA Checkpoint Tax Research Database: Hamilton Library maintains a subscription to the RIA Checkpoint research service for the academic community at UH Manoa. Students may login to RIA Checkpoint using their UH username and password. Students should be efficient in their use of the database because a maximum of 35 simultaneous users are allowed. In the rare even that you are unable to access the service because the number of simultaneous users has been exceeded, please be patient and try again in a reasonable period of time. Class Assignments: Accounting is something you need to practice. It is not enough to read the text like a novel or sit in class and listen to lectures like a movie. Therefore, it is important that you complete the exercises and the problems that are assigned by the due date. CengageNOW will provide you the homework problems and also provide you with opportunities to continue to practice. Please treat the assigned homework as the minimum amount of exercises. You are encouraged to get more practice. Class Structure: Generally, I will discuss a chapter on our Friday class. Then, you will have the weekend and Monday &Tuesday to read the chapter and do the homework. Wednesdays, generally, will be our problem-solving day when we will go over the material and mostly look at problems. Class Participation: Participation in class is strongly encouraged. Students should be prepared to go to the front of the classroom to discuss homework problems. Work in a Group: Knowing how to work in a small team is an important skill in business. Sometimes, in business, people from different companies need to work together for a short time to fulfill a specific objective. Furthermore, some other classes in the Shidler College require students to work on group projects. Lastly, one way to test whether you understand material is to be able to explain it to someone else. The sooner you learn how to work in a group, the better. Therefore, I encourage you to work in small groups. However, each student in the group should make sure that they submit their own work and understand the material themselves. Calculators: Students should bring a calculator of any type to each class. ADMINISTRATION Communication: I strongly encourage students to come to my office hours or make appointments. is the preferred communication method in emergency. I will not discuss grades through . Students should check the course website one day before each class meeting. Exams & Quizzes: Exams and quizzes consist of a combination of work-out problems and multiple choice questions. Exams and quizzes will be closed-book and closed-note, except the final exam, which will be open book and open notes. All exams and quizzes must be returned and no exams or quizzes are ever to be removed by students from the classroom. Removing an exam or quiz from the classroom will result in the student receiving a zero for the exam or quiz. Make-up exams and quizzes will be given only under very rare circumstances, and the instructor reserves the right to deduct points as deemed appropriate. There will be two mid-term exams, one final exam, and a few quizzes. Quizzes will be announced at least one class prior to the quiz. Students are 2

3 expected to be present on exam and quiz days. If an exam or quiz must be missed, the student MUST notify the instructor PRIOR to the absence. No make-up exam or quiz will be given without prior notification. Make-up exams or quizzes will be considered only in legitimate, unavoidable circumstances (serious illness, family emergency, etc). Proper documentation for the absence must be required. When allowed, make-up exams or quizzes will be scheduled at the discretion of the instructor. Make-up exams or quizzes are more rigorous, are graded to a higher standard than the original exam, and do not offer bonus points or additional credits of any kind. If you believe that there is an error in the grading of an exam or quiz, bring it to my attention within a couple of the days after the exam or quiz is reviewed in class. Class attendance: Students should treat each class as an important business meeting and should arrive before the start time. If a student misses a class, it is his or her responsibility to determine what material was covered and how to learn it. Grading: Your course grade will be based on your score on homework (via CengageNOW), writing assignments, and exams as follows: Description Percent Homework 15 Quizzes 5 Participation 5 Writing assignments 30 Exam 1 10 Exam 2 15 Final, cumulative 20 Total 100 There are no quotas for particular grades. Grading will be based on a reasonable curve with scores in the average receiving a low B or C, and scores away from the average receiving A or D. I use pluses and minuses in grading. Although A+ will not make any difference (from A) in your GPA, I may assign A+ if earned. COURSE COMPLIANCE WITH VARIOUS CAMPUS POLICIES: All rules and policies of the University of Hawai i at Mānoa and the Shidler College of Business will be followed in the course. Alternate Meeting Place: In the event of any disturbance requiring the evacuation of Shidler College, you are to meet the instructor in the grassy area on the south (makai) side of George Hall. At that time, further instructions will be given (if an exam is in progress, you will be notified of an alternate room to complete the exam). Students with Disabilities: Any student who has a documented disability and requires accommodations is strongly encouraged to contact me or the KOKUA Program located in Room 13 on the first floor of the Student Services Center (also contact Ann Ito, KOKUA Program Director at ). 3

4 Academic Honesty: Cheating and Plagiarism will not be tolerated. All incidents will be handled in accordance with the UH Student Code of Conduct. The UH Student Code of Conduct, is available at: The most relevant portions are included below for your convenience. Because UHM is an academic community with high professional standards, its teaching, research, and service purposes are seriously disrupted and subverted by academic dishonesty. Such dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism as defined below. Ignorance of these definitions will not provide an excuse for acts of academic dishonesty. Be sure to read the following definitions for plagiarism and cheating. Cheating includes but is not limited to giving or receiving unauthorized assistance during an examination; obtaining unauthorized information about an examination before it is given; submitting another s work as one s own; using prohibited sources of information during an examination; fabricating or falsifying data in experiments and other research; altering the record of any grade; altering answers after an examination has been submitted; falsifying any official University record; or misrepresenting of facts in order to obtain exemptions from course requirements. Plagiarism includes but is not limited to submitting, in fulfillment of an academic requirement, any work that has been copied in whole or in part from another individual s work without attributing that borrowed portion to the individual; neglecting to identify as a quotation another s idea and particular phrasing that was not assimilated into the student s language and style or paraphrasing a passage so that the reader is misled as to the source; submitting the same written or oral or artistic material in more than one course without obtaining authorization from the instructors involved; or drylabbing, which includes obtaining and using experimental data and laboratory write-ups from other sections of a course or from previous terms. Classroom Behavior: Both students and faculty have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty must treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions. 4

5 Registration HOW TO ACCESS OUR CengageNOW COURSE CengageNOW is part of CengageBrain, a single site to access all of your Cengage materials and courses. 1. Connect to 2. If you already have an account, from a previous course that also used CengageNOW, just sign in. In Dashboard, enter the course key for our course (see p. 1), and click the Register button. If you don't have an account, click the Create an Account button, and enter your course key (see p. 1) when prompted. Continue to follow the on-screen instructions. Payment Online: Purchase access to your course (including the digital textbook) from the CengageBrain website. After paying, you will have the option to purchase a physical book at a discounted price. If you choose to pay later, you can use CengageNOW until the end of the grace period. Bookstore: An access code to CengageNOW is included in the course packet from the bookstore. 5

6 University of Hawai i at Mānoa Shidler College of Business Course Schedule for ACC 401 The schedule is subject to change as the term progresses. Date n Writing Due / Quiz Ch Topic 5/27 T 1 1 Intro 5/28 W 2 Cover Letter 1 2 Tax research & writing 5/29 R 3 RP 2 2 & RP Tax Formula 5/30 F 4 Grade Figs 2.7&2.8 3 Overview of Property Txns 6/2 M 5 Quiz 1~3 & partners 4 Gross Income: Concepts & Inclusions 6/3 T 6 RP 3 2 Memo 4&5 Gross Income: Concepts & Inclusions + Exclusions 6/4 W 7 5 Gross Income: Exclusions 6/5 R 8 RP 3 2 CL 5&19 Deferred Compensation 6/6 F 9 Review 6/9 M 10 Exam 1 6/10 T 11 6 Deductions & Losses 6/11 W No classes Kamehameha Day 6/12 R 12 RP 6 3 Memo 7 D&L: Certain Biz Exp & Losses 6/13 F 13 RP 6 3 CL 7 D&L: Certain Biz Exp & Losses 6/16 M 14 Quiz Chs. 6 & 7 9 Ded: Ee & SE-Related Exp 6/17 T 15 9 Ded: Ee & SE-Related Exp 6/18 W 16 RP 9 6 Memo* 10 Deductions & Losses: Certain Itemized Deductions 6/19 R 17 RP 9 6 CL* 11 Investor Losses 620 F 18 RP 9 6 Edits Review 6/23 M 19 RP 9 All** Exam 2 6/24 T 20 8 Depreciation, Cost Recovery, Amort., & Depletion 6/25 W 21 RP 8 5 Memo* 8&14 Depreciation (cont d) + Intro to Property Transactions 6/26 R 22 RP 8 5 CL* 14&16 Property Txns: Determination of G/L & Basis Considerations 6/27 F 23 RP 8 5 Edits 16&15 Property Txns: Capital Gains & Losses + Non-tax. Exchanges 6/30 M 24 RP 8 5 All 12 Introduction to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) 7/1 T 25 Ltr. of Reference 13 Tax Credits & Payment Procedures 7/2 W 26 Cover Letter 2 Review 7/3 R 27 FINAL EXAM: 8:15 am 10:15 am *These Memos and client letters should be distributed to your writing partner. **This assignment will be due by 11:55 pm on the date specified. Homework will be managed through CengageNOW. Writing assignments will be managed through Laulima s assignments.

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