John Baron, a professional baseball player, raises Black Angus cattle under circumstances that would indicate that the activity is a hobby. His adjusted gross income for the year is $50,000, and he has $500 of other miscellaneous itemized deductions, all of which are subject to the two-percent floor. During the taxable year, the feed for the cattle cost $1,500. The income from the sale of cattle was $1,400.
(a) Under the hobby loss rule, to what extent is the expense of $1,500 deductible?
(b) Under the two-percent-of-adjusted-gross-income limitation, how much is the overall deductible amount of his itemized deductions?