1. Compute the Howells tax liability for the year (ignoring the alternative minimum tax and any phase-out provisions) assuming they file a joint return, they have no dependents, they dont make any special tax elections, and their itemized deductions total $26,000. Assume that asset bases are reported to the IRS.

During 2021, your clients, Mr. and Mrs. Howell, owned the following investment assets:

Investment Assets	Date Acquired	Purchase Price	Brokers Commission Paid at Time of Purchase
300 shares of IBM common	11/22/2018	$ 10,420	$ 100
200 shares of IBM common	4/3/2019	43,320	300
3,000 shares of Apple preferred	12/12/2019	154,000	1,300
2,100 shares of Cisco common	8/14/2020	53,200	550
420 shares of Vanguard mutual fund	3/2/2021	15,400	No-load fund*

*No commissions are charged when no-load mutual funds are bought and sold.

Because of the downturn in the stock market, Mr. and Mrs. Howell decided to sell most of their stocks and the mutual fund in 2021 and to reinvest in municipal bonds. The following investment assets were sold in 2021:

Investment Assets	Date Sold	Sale Price	Brokers Commission Paid at Time of Sale
300 shares of IBM common	5/6	$ 14,400	$ 100
3,000 shares of Apple preferred	10/5	222,100	2,000
2,100 shares of Cisco common	8/15	63,320	650
451 shares of Vanguard mutual fund	12/21	16,400	No-load fund*

*No commissions are charged when no-load mutual funds are bought and sold.

The Howells broker issued them a Form 1099-B showing the sales proceeds net of the commissions paid. For example, the IBM sales proceeds were reported as $14,300 on the Form 1099-B they received.

In addition to the sales reflected in the table above, the Howells provided you with the following additional information concerning 2021:

The Howells received a Form 1099-B from the Vanguard mutual fund reporting a $900 long-term capital gain distribution. This distribution was reinvested in 31 additional Vanguard mutual fund shares on 6/30/2021.

In 2014, Mrs. Howell loaned $6,700 to a friend who was starting a new multilevel marketing company called LD3. The friend declared bankruptcy in 2021, and Mrs. Howell has been notified she will not be receiving any repayment of the loan.

The Howells have a $3,000 short-term capital loss carryover and a $5,500 long-term capital loss carryover from prior years.

The Howells did not instruct their broker to sell any particular lot of IBM stock.

The Howells earned $3,350 in municipal bond interest, $3,350 in interest from corporate bonds, and $4,700 in qualified dividends.

Assume the Howells have $147,500 of wage income during the year.

Additional Info:

Tax Rates for Net Capital Gains and Qualified Dividends

Rate*	Taxable Income
	Married Filing Jointly	Married Filing Separately	Single	Head of Household	Trusts and Estates
0%	$0 - $80,800	$0 - $40,400	$0 - $40,400	$0 - $54,100	$0 - $2,700
15%	$80,801 - $501,600	$40,401 - $250,800	$40,401 - $445,850	$54,101 - $473,750	$2,701 - $13,250
20%	$501,601+	$250,801+	$445,851+	$473,751+	$13,251+

*This rate applies to the net capital gains and qualified dividends that fall within the range of taxable income specified in the table (net capital gains and qualified dividends are included in taxable income last for this purpose).

2021 Tax Rate Schedules

Individuals

Schedule X-Single

If taxable income is over:	But not over:	The tax is:
$ 0	$ 9,950	10% of taxable income
$ 9,950	$ 40,525	$995 plus 12% of the excess over $9,950
$ 40,525	$ 86,375	$4,664 plus 22% of the excess over $40,525
$ 86,375	$ 164,925	$14,751 plus 24% of the excess over $86,375
$ 164,925	$ 209,425	$33,603 plus 32% of the excess over $164,925
$ 209,425	$ 523,600	$47,843 plus 35% of the excess over $209,425
$ 523,600		$157,804.25 plus 37% of the excess over $523,600

Schedule Y-1-Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)

If taxable income is over:	But not over:	The tax is:
$ 0	$ 19,900	10% of taxable income
$ 19,900	$ 81,050	$1,990 plus 12% of the excess over $19,900
$ 81,050	$ 172,750	$9,328 plus 22% of the excess over $81,050
$ 172,750	$ 329,850	$29,502 plus 24% of the excess over $172,750
$ 329,850	$ 418,850	$67,206 plus 32% of the excess over $329,850
$ 418,850	$ 628,300	$95,686 plus 35% of the excess over $418,850
$ 628,300		$168,993.50 plus 37% of the excess over $628,300

Schedule Z-Head of Household

If taxable income is over:	But not over:	The tax is:
$ 0	$ 14,200	10% of taxable income
$ 14,200	$ 54,200	$1,420 plus 12% of the excess over $14,200
$ 54,200	$ 86,350	$6,220 plus 22% of the excess over $54,200
$ 86,350	$ 164,900	$13,293 plus 24% of the excess over $86,350
$ 164,900	$ 209,400	$32,145 plus 32% of the excess over $164,900
$ 209,400	$ 523,600	$46,385 plus 35% of the excess over $209,400
$ 523,600		$156,355 plus 37% of the excess over $523,600

Schedule Y-2-Married Filing Separately

If taxable income is over:	But not over:	The tax is:
$ 0	$ 9,950	10% of taxable income
$ 9,950	$ 40,525	$995 plus 12% of the excess over $ 9,950
$ 40,525	$ 86,375	$4,664 plus 22% of the excess over $40,525
$ 86,375	$ 164,925	$14,751 plus 24% of the excess over $86,375
$ 164,925	$ 209,425	$33,603 plus 32% of the excess over $164,925
$ 209,425	$ 314,150	$47,843 plus 35% of the excess over $209,425
$ 314,150		$84,496.75 plus 37% of the excess over $314,150