Egret Corporation, a calendar year C corporation, was formed on March 6, 2017, and opened for business on July 1, 2017. After its formation but prior to opening for business, Egret incurred the following expenditures:
Accounting .................................................. $ 7,000
Advertising .................................................... 14,500
Employee payroll ............................................ 11,000
Rent ............................................................. 8,000
Utilities .......................................................... 1,000
What is the maximum amount of these expenditures that Egret can deduct in 2017?