COURSE SYLLABUS – Income Tax Fundamentals ACCT 255 online
Winter Quarter, 2009, North Seattle Community College
Instructor: Larry Hopt, J.D.
Registration Item # 9426 ACCT 255.D2
Course Website: http://elvis.sccd.ctc.edu:8900
Course Discussion Tool: This Quarter we will be using WebCT
Courseware. To learn how it is used, please go to:
http://www.virtualcollege.org/resource/WebCT/webct_Index.htm
If you have any technical problems, e-mail to distance@sccd.ctc.edu for the
North Seattle Community College Distance Learning Office.
Instructor’s Office: IB 2417B This is in the Business Engineering and
Information Technologies Division (BEIT), on the second floor of the
Instruction Building.
Office Hours:
I have official office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays
from 2:00 to 4:30 PM. However, I am on campus many more hours than
the hours listed here. If you want or need to meet in person, and cannot
make one of these times, I’ll be happy to set up an appointment for other
times or days that work for you.
Phone: (206) 528-4529 There is Voice-Mail if I am not able to answer
when you call. I try to check this daily, but may not be able to get back to
you for a day or so.
FAX: (206) 527-3735 Note that this is the fax machine for the whole
Business , Engineering & Information Technologies Division, and your
message will NOT be private.
e-mail: use WEBCT
I usually try to respond to e-mail each day (unless it is a weekend and I am
away). I would expect my maximum response time to be 48 hours.
Class Discussion: use WEBCT
(Note - I will be reading and monitoring your posts and the discussions, but
not necessarily responding to each posting. I encourage you to support each
other and exchange ideas and questions amongst the class membership.
Each student will be expected to post to the class discussions several times
each week, at a minimum. “Posting” does not include merely
acknowledging another students comments.)
You must read and understand our rules of "Netiquette and Privacy" outlined
here. Also please read below on how to use the discussion rooms and class
blog to earn points as well as some practical hints on managing the discussion setup.
Netiquette and Privacy
Words can mean many things and what we intend to say is not always what
others hear. This is especially true of "online communication" during which
other students do not have the opportunity to see your "body language" and
therefore have a greater possibility of misunderstanding what you truly
mean.
Please, follow these guidelines in all your online
responses
and discussion groups.

RESPECT. We would like to suggest respectful exchanges as a basic
ground rule. We feel that informational errors should be pointed outrespectfully (even if stated strongly...). Disagreements that honor
the viewpoints of the various contributors are productive and can
lead to new learning and understanding.

PRIVACY. Keep in mind not only your own privacy rights but others
as well. Do not reveal any information that you deem private.

BE CONSIDERATE of grammatical/spelling errors.

REMEMBER that humor and satire are often misinterpreted online.
Communication is more than words. So, be prepared for some
misunderstanding and requests for clarification.

BE SUPPORTIVE. We are all still learning. Our job is not to judge or
condemn or even praise, although genuine encouragement is a
necessary ingredient. We are here to provide information, to address
topics in a discussion forum, and to provide assistance in helping
each participant use her/his own unique learning style. Reflection
generally precedes growth. So reflect upon what is said, provide
sincere comments, and hopefully, we will all grow.
One good way to avoid problems is to reread your postings before sending
them. Something written in haste may be misread.
Created by Val Donato, Sandra Looper, Diane Hostetler and Tom Braziunas
How to Earn Points for Discussion Participation:
During each week, we will be discussing our readings, especially the specific pages
we are currently digesting. In the readings discussion room, join in and post a
comment, question or related thought about the readings and/or respond to
someone else's message. We will also use the readings discussion room for
conversations on the written homework including assistance to one another in
understanding how to approach specific problems.
You need to post some relevant comments in the readings discussion room
several times on several days in several ways (for example, by providing
feedback to others' remarks) in order to earn discussion credit. You can earn up to
10 points each week depending on your degree of participation.
Discussion Clean Offs: At the end of each week, the messages in the readings
discussion room will be stored to make way for the next week's conversations. If
you post messages only at the end of the week, they earn less credit since no one
will be able to reply to them before they are archived.
You will always have access to past reading discussions in case you want to refresh
your memory about something that was posted.
Pointers for using the Readings Discussion Room:

When you first access the discussion web page, you will notice a table of
"Topics." Click on "Readings Discussion Room" in order to view the
messages posted during the current week. As each week goes by, our
postings will be stored in an "archive" so that you can continue to review
messages from past weeks.

After clicking on "Readings Discussion Room" you will see only the
"Unread Messages." They are marked "new" under status. You might want
to look at All Messages by clicking on "Show All" on the Menu frame on the
left. Then you will see all messages, read and unread.

A little green arrow will also appear next to a message if it is the beginning of
a "thread" of messages. By clicking on the arrow, you will be able to see the
entire thread of conversation (string of messages).

You may reply to a message by clicking on it, reading it and then clicking on
the Reply button that appears with the message. The Quote button will
include the original message in your reply.

The "Compose Discussion Message" button on the Menu allows you to
create your own message and start a new "thread".

You may attach a document to your message. First you need to browse your
hard-drive for your document (WORD, GIF, JPEG and Text files seem to work
best as attachments). Click on the Browse button in your message box (and
then click on the Attach button after you have selected the file).

Last but not least, you may download many messages at once (or just read
them all at once) if you would like. If you select a number of messages by
clicking the check boxes in front of them, and then clicking on the Compile
button, all messages will be conveniently listed one after the other (and ready
for you to download to your computer if desired). Try it out!
Text: This quarter, we will be using “Essentials of Federal Income
Taxation for Individuals and Business,” 2009 Edition, by Linda Johnson &
Herbert Sieg, published by CCH. The ISBN is: __________________.
This book is available in the college bookstore – or you may also be able to
pick it up online or from another source for less money!!
Additional or Substitute Text: IF you have not yet purchased your text, or if
we have any delays in receiving the text from the publisher – this sometimes
happens during a Winter Quarter class, as Congress sometimes changes tax
laws very late in the year – you can download Publication 17 (Your Federal
Income Tax) from the IRS website as a starting point. (www.irs.gov) This
is about 300 pages long, and contains a wealth of information and
instructions.
We will also be using a variety of other publications & forms that you can
download from the IRS website, and handouts that I will be providing you .
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this course is to introduce
the student to Federal individual income tax law and income tax form
preparation. No previous knowledge of income tax or accounting is
required for this class.
APPROACH:
We will approach these questions from the point of view
of the income-tax practitioner - the preparer. Note that as an introductory
survey course in taxation, it will not be possible to cover every topic in
comprehensive detail.
NSCC GENERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES MET BY COURSE:
Outcome 1. Think critically in reading and writing.
Outcome 4. Access, evaluate, and apply information from a variety of
sources and a variety of contexts.
READING REQUIREMENTS: All students are expected to keep up with
the reading for this class. We will have at least 100 pages of reading each
week, counting the text assignments, articles, webpages, etc. Please budget
your time so you can read at least 20 pages per day! There will be
numerous other articles, books and websites to refer to. A facility in
English speaking, listening, reading and writing will be essential to
successful completion of this class.
GRADING POLICIES
I have attached a scoring guide which will be used for assigning grades.
1,000 points total are possible, to be earned as follows:
Work-Together Exams. I will give you three work-together exams, that you
will have at least a week in which to complete. You can work on these
together, and I will give you some time in class in which to compare notes
with other students. (150 Points possible for each exam; 450 total)
Final Exam – on campus, or proctored at another location. The last exam
will be on campus (or proctored through a local college testing center – you
will need to make those arrangements). For the final, you will be expected
to complete the exam on your own, with no opportunity for you to talk or
compare notes with other students, although it will be open-book and open
notes. (250 Points possible)
HAND-IN HOMEWORK. There will be several homework assignments to
send in, for a total of 200 points.
On-Line Class Discussions. Each student will be expected to participate
(regularly and substantially) in on-line discussions in the "class discussion
rooms," on the WebCT website. That means at least 3 or 4 "postings" on
the class discussion rooms each week. See each week's assignments for
guidelines on assigned discussion topics. You are also invited to post
comments and questions on an "open-topic" discussion page anytime.
Points Sheet
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Take-Home due 1/31/09
Take-Home due 2/21/09
Take-Home due 3/14/09
_____
POSSIBLE
POINTS
150
150
150
EARNED
POINTS
_____
_____
_____
Exam 4
Last Exam on 3/21/09
Subtotal for Exams
On-line Class Discussion Room
250
_____
____________________
700
_____
100
_____
Hand-In Homework
HW1
HW2
HW3
HW4
HW5
Subtotal for Homework:
Total points possible:
POSSIBLE
POINTS
EARNED
POINTS
40
40
40
40
40
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
200
_____
1,000
TOTAL Points EARNED:
GRADE:
_____
_____
GRADING SCALE:
At the end of the quarter, your total score will be compared to the following
table to determine the grade you have earned for the class. This scale may
require higher scores than other classes you have taken or are taking now.
This reflects the fact that many of the exams/projects in this class are “takehome,” and “open-book” in nature.
Percentage
96 – 100%
95
4.0 Grade Scale
4.0
3.9
94
93
92
3.8
3.7
3.6
91
90
89
88
87
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.1
86
85
84
83
82
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
81
80
79
78
77
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.2
2.1
76
75
74
73
72
2.0
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.6
71
1.5
70
1.4
69
1.3
68
1.2
67
1.1
No credit is given for ending scores with less than 67%.
ACCT 255.DL1
Individual Income Tax Schedule
This is the tentative schedule for Class Topics (subject to revision)
Winter 2009
WEEK 1
Material to Read/Prepare/Cover in Class
Class Introductions
Look at www.irs.gov website
IRS instructions & forms
Introduction of CCH Text
Overview of Federal Income Tax System - handouts
Super-Basic Tax Formula
Basic Standard Deductions
Personal Exemptions/Dependency Exemptions
“Zero-Tax Bracket” for Standard Deduction & Personal
Exemptions
Who MUST File a 2008 Return??
Graduated Income Tax Brackets
2008 Tax-Rate Schedules based on Filing Status
Comparing Single/Head of Household/Married status
Form W-2 for Wages Income
Form 1099 for Interest Income
Form 1040EZ practice return
WEEK 2
Standard Deduction additions for Over 65 and/or Blind
Standard Deduction for Dependents
Phase-down of Exemptions
Requirements for Dependency Exemptions
Qualifying Child (QC)
Relationship Test
Age Test
Residency Test
Support Test
Joint-Return Test
Citizenship Test
Children of Divorced/Separated Parents
Qualifying Relative (QR)
Relationship Test
Support Test
Gross Income Test
Citizenship Test
Joint-Return Test
Qualifying Non-Relative (QNR)
Support Test
Gross Income Test
Citizenship Test
Joint-Return Test
*Local Law Issue
Multiple-Support Agreements – Form 2120 Declaration
Use of IRS Tax Tables for Taxable Income under $100,000
Form 1040A practice return
Week 3
How Credits Are Used Against Income Tax
-Nonrefundable
-Refundable
Credit for Child & Dependent Care Expenses
Qualifying Person
Qualified Expenses
Maximum Qualified Expenses
Joint Filing Requirement
“Earned Income” or “Deemed Income”
AGI determines Credit % (20 to 35%)
Form 2441 practice
Elderly or Disabled Credit – Schedule R
Education Credits
HOPE Credit
Lifetime Learning Credit
Phase-Out of Education Credits
Form 8863 practice
Residential Energy Credits
Home Energy Efficiency 10% Credit
Alternative Energy 30% Credit
Foreign Tax Credit, Form 1116
Child Tax Credit
Nonrefundable
Refundable – Form 8812
Retirement Savings Contribution Credit
WEEK 4
WEEK 5
WEEK 6
WEEK 7
WEEK 8
Social Security Income
Unemployment Income
Dividends
Child Support
Maintenance for former Spouse
Tips
Gambling Winnings
Prizes
WEEK 9
WEEK 10
WEEK 11
WEEK 12
FINAL EXAM
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES:
Students are encouraged to seek campus support services when necessary to
support their learning and academic progress. Refer to student handbook,
brochures/flyers, or college website for information about:
Educational Access Office (accommodations)
Tutoring Services
Library
LOFT Writing Center Plus
Counseling
Women’s Center
Multicultural Services Office
Wellness Center
POLICY ON COURSE WITHDRAWAL:
The instructor may initiate administrative withdrawals of students who do
not start class during the first week of the quarter, in order to accommodate
other students seeking entry into the class. Official withdrawal at other
times of the quarter is the responsibility of the student.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT:
If you need course adaptations or accommodation because of a disability;
please contact the Educational Access office as soon as possible, and let your
instructor know what accommodations are needed.
CLASSROOM RULES:
Please respect the opinions expressed in class by your classmates. If you
disagree with their opinion, state so respectfully, and not as a personal
attack.
Students are expected to comply with NSCC student conduct policy and
procedures. Information on student responsibilities and rights is available at
the following website: www.seattlecolleges.com/services.
ACADEMIC HONESTY: Academic honesty is highly valued at NSCC. A
student must always submit work that represents his/her original words or
ideas.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY COULD INVOLVE:
1. Having a tutor or friend complete all or a portion of your assignment.
2. Having a reviewer make extensive revisions to an assignment.
3. Copying work submitted by another student.
4. Using information from online information services without proper
citation.
5. Taking exam answers from another student’s paper.
6. Using materials not allowed to answer exam questions.
EXAMINATION CONDUCT: Students are expected to complete
examinations without the unauthorized use of reference materials, notes, or
classmates.
CLASSROOM DIVERSITY STATEMENT: Respect for diversity is a
core value of NSCC. Our college community fosters an optimal learning
climate and an environment of mutual respect. We, the college community,
recognize individual differences. Therefore, we are responsible for the
content and tone of our statements and are empathetic speakers and
listeners.
RESPECTFUL AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT: The instructor and
student share the responsibility to foster a learning environment that is
welcoming, supportive, and respectful of cultural and individual differences.
Open and respectful communication that allows for the expression of varied
opinions and multicultural perspectives encourages us to learn freely from
each other.