Competency

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

• Prepare basic income tax returns that adhere to tax laws, regulations, and codes 

Scenario

You have been hired as a junior accountant at a medium-sized tax and accounting firm. Your manager would like to understand your level of knowledge of preparing a basic tax return. She has provided several client profiles for you to review and would like you to complete a tax return. The firm has found it helpful for new tax professionals to choose which client’s tax return they’d like to work on in their initial weeks with the company.  

Once you select the client you would like to work with from the Client Tax Profile A list found in the Supporting Materials section below, review the client’s current year tax package. Refer back to the Tax Organizer you prepared for your selected client in Project One Milestone Two. Determine what information must be used to prepare the client’s tax return. Keep in mind some items provided by the client may not be required or applicable for the completion of the tax return you are working on. You may wish to utilize checklists or other guidelines found in the Supporting Materials section to assist you in preparing the client’s tax return. 

Once the tax return is prepared, you will summarize the outcome of the tax return, including the decisions involved in completing the tax return. For example, you will want to identify how required income sources were determined, what relevant deductions were taken, what applicable credits were applied (if any), whether supplement forms were used, and the tax liability for the current tax year. You’ll also want to document the outcome of the return, such as whether the taxpayer(s) will obtain a refund or will incur an amount due for the tax year. 

Note: Please be sure you don’t add a value to cells on the 1040 form or any additional schedules or worksheets that do not apply. Leave them blank. For example, if on schedule A, there are no charitable contributions but there are real-estate taxes, you would leave the charitable contributions cell blank and add a value in the real-estate taxes cell. Don’t forget to input a value for any lines that are included in the total. 

Directions

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria: 

Part One: Completed 1040 Tax Return 

1. Apply relevant sources of income to complete a tax return. Include the following:  
   1. What income sources should be reported? 
2. Determine relevant deductions (standard versus itemized) based on taxpayer circumstances. Consider the following:  
   1. Does the taxpayer have enough deductions to itemize or is the standard deduction more beneficial? 
3. Apply relevant tax credits to a tax return based on the taxpayer’s position to claim tax credits. Consider the following: 
   1. Which credits might be applicable to the taxpayer?   
   2. Are there income limitations for claiming any available tax credits? 
4. Calculate the correct tax liability utilizing the appropriate tax table.  
5. Complete correct supplemental forms to meet the taxpayer's needs. 

Part Two: Short Paper  

1. Summarize how decisions made have impacted each section of the completed tax return. Include the following in your summary: 
   1. How were required income sources determined? 
   2. What relevant deductions were taken? 
   3. What applicable credits were applied, if any? 
   4. Were supplemental forms used? 
   5. How was the correct tax liability calculated for the current year? 
   6. How was the outcome of the return determined? 

What to Submit

To complete this project, you must submit the following:  

Completed 1040 Tax Return 

• Submit a completed 1040 Tax Return in PDF format. 

Short Paper 

• Submit a 1- to 2-page Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style. The title page and reference page are not included in the total page count requirement.