Porter enjoys antique shopping and looking for a good buy. He visited several antique stores and flea markets recently and purchased an old chest of drawers for his extra bedroom. While moving the chest of drawers in his bedroom, he discovered \($1,000\) in a compartment in the top drawer. Porter paid \($45\) for the chest of drawers. Porter wants to know if he needs to report anything on his tax return related to his lucky find. He doesn’t think so because of the finders keepers rule, an adage that says someone who has found an object can keep it. Does Porter have to report any income on his tax return? In addition to the chapter content, see Statements on Standards for Tax Services at https://future.aicpa.
org/resources/toolkit/statements-on-standards-for-tax-services, Circular 230 at www.irs.gov/tax-professionals/ circular-230-tax-professionals, and Chapter 3, LO4, Tax Professional Responsibilities.