Course Syllabus

Course:

TAX 9861
Federal Income Taxation

Sections:

CTRA
Vert 9-150
TuTh 10:45-12:00

Instructor:

Professor Jon N. Kerr, PhD, CPA

Stan Ross Department of Accountancy
Office: VC 12-277
Email: jon.kerr@baruch.cuny.edu
Office hours by appointment

Stan Ross Department of Accountancy Mission Statement:

The missions of the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy are: (1) to offer
undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs in accountancy and a masters program in
taxation (2) to provide accounting education to students with majors in areas other than
accounting, and (3) to serve its student, academic, and business constituencies through
engagement in high quality research. Consistent with the Zicklin Schools mission, the
Department seeks to provide high quality, high value education to enhance the professional
aims of its students.
Course Description and Objectives:
Per the course catalogue, this course is [a] comprehensive analysis of tax rules and
concepts as they apply to individuals. This course covers various topics including the
concepts of gross income, exclusions, capital gains and losses, personal and business losses,
basis, deductions, and credits. The area of tax planning will be addressed as well.
In addition, the course aims to help its students be able to work with key concepts of
federal income taxation (with a focus on individuals) and to become innovative thinkers in
regards to tax planning. The course also aims at helping students recognize legal and
ethical issues in tax planning and act in accordance with both law and ethics. In addition,
the course may touch upon the federal taxation of entities (e.g., corporations and
partnerships) as time permits.
This course is partially online/independent study (roughly one-third of all
scheduled classroom sessions). Therefore, students will need to be able to work
independently to complete coursework outside of a traditional classroom environment as
well as diligently and consistently attend class when held.
The Flipped Classroom
This course is following a flipped classroom design as opposed to the traditional
classroom approach. In a traditional classroom, the professor lectures at a surface level
and then sends students home to work through detailed problems on their own. This course
is an experiment at turning (or flipping) that model on its head by having the students do
the surface-level instruction online via independent study, Connect, and LearnSmart and
then committing classroom time to working through problems and more in-depth learning.

Learning Goals:
The following Accounting Learning Goals will be addressed in this course:

Develop general and technical accounting knowledge and skills necessary for
successful careers in accounting
o Be able to work with key concepts in taxation and develop effective tax
minimization strategies
Be able to perform accounting and management functions effectively in a global
environment

Required Materials:
NOTE: Do NOT buy a prior year edition of the textbook as amounts and laws have changed
McGraw-Hills Taxation of Individuals with Connect Plus, 2016 Edition, by Spilker, Ayers,
Robinson, Outslay, Worsham, Barrick, and Weaver (Access to Connect is required for
the course)
Connect Registration Links:
CTRA Section: http://connect.mheducation.com/class/j-kerr-fall-9861-ctra-tuth-1045am--1200pm
Contemporary Topics and Additional Learning Opportunities:
We will discuss contemporary topics whenever time permits. The class is encouraged
to access the following resources for the latest in tax-related information, news, and
research:

CCH Tax Research; WestLaw

o To access electronic resources such as CCH or WestLaw, visit the Newman
Librarys homepage located at http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu and select
Databases
o If you need assistance, Rita Ormsby is the Accounting Librarian and is
available to assist students; please email her first at:
Rita_Ormsby@baruch.cuny.edu
Office of Management and Budget: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/
U.S. Department of Treasury Taxes: http://www.treasury.gov/topics/tax/index.html
Internal Revenue Service: http://www.irs.gov/
Congressional Resources:
o U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation: http://www.house.gov/jct/
o U.S. Senate Finance Committee: http://finance.senate.gov/
o U.S. House Committee of Ways and Means: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/

Grades:
Grades will be determined according to the following schedule:

Mid-term Examination
Final Examination
Online and In-Class Assignments
Research Project

35%
35%

15%
15%

One mid-term and one final exam will be given. The final exam is cumulative but
with a much greater emphasis on the content covered after the mid-term. All students are
expected to sit for both exams, and failure to do so will result in an F. Make-up exams may
be given for extenuating circumstances, but the student must contact me prior to the exam
to arrange for any exception. In addition, students with disabilities should contact the
appropriate office (see below) for special exam accommodations.
Students are expected to read all chapters.
For sessions marked as ONLINE (see the class schedule below), students are
expected to do the following:
1. Fill out the Student Notes for that sessions chapter/s. It is best to fill out the
Student Notes while you are reading the chapter. Student Notes are not
graded, but if a quiz is given in class, the questions will be taken verbatim
from the Student Notes.
2. Complete any assigned LearnSmart modules. LearnSmart modules are part of
your Online Assignments grade.
a. LearnSmart modules for the chapter are available at the beginning of
the day after the previous chapters CLASS through the end of the day
before that chapters CLASS.
3. Take the assigned Quiz. The Quiz is part of your Online Assignments grade.
The quiz has no time limit you may use your book and Student Notes. It is
NOT open friend, professor, internet-search, or person-sitting-next-to-you.
Ideally, you should find a distraction-free space where you can take the quiz
and complete it in a single sitting. The quiz allows for multiple tries, so
please, do not cheapen your learning by using aids outside those allowed.
a. Quizzes for the chapter are available at the beginning of the day after
the previous chapters CLASS through the end of the day before that
chapters CLASS.
4. Post any questions you need immediate help with to the appropriate chapters
online forum found on Blackboard.
For sessions marked as CLASS instruction (see the class schedule below), students
are expected to come to class fully prepared, having already completed both the chapter
readings as well as the appropriate online content. Quizzes and in-class problems will be
both given and collected each week in class and will form the basis of the In-Class
Assignments portion of your grade.
Details regarding the research project will be given at a future date.
I adhere to the policy regarding grade distribution for 3000-level courses as set out
by the Accounting Department and as recommended by the Executive Committee. This
policy states that no more than 20% of the students shall receive an A grade, no more than
40% an A or B grade, and no more than 70% an A, B, or C grade. The grades of this course
will be curved to obtain such distribution.
Cell phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices:

Instruction time in class is valuable as this course is partially online/independent

study. Therefore, unless prior approval has been granted for special cases, no electronic
device is to be used during class. In addition, all devices capable of unpredictably making a
sound (e.g., phones) are to be silenced prior to each class session.
Attendance Policy:
All students are required to attend every class session and should arrive on time. I
am required to give any freshman or sophomore who is absent from class in excess of twice
the number of class sessions per week a WU grade, which counts as an F. In addition, the
Registrars office requires that any student who has not attended any class before week 5 be
dropped from the class.
In-class participation is an important part of the course and unexcused absences will
have a negative impact on the participation portion of a students grade. As young and
aspiring professionals treating others with respect and professionalism is paramount to your
success in both your career and personal life. To this end, excessive absences will result in a
WU grade for any student. In addition, I reserve the right to lower the grade of any student
who is habitually late to class or acts unprofessionally either to myself or his/her peers by
half a grade (e.g., from and A to and A-).
Academic Integrity:
I fully support Baruch College's policy on Academic Honesty and all students are
expected to know and adhere to it. The policy states, in part, that:
Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest acts
undermine the college's educational mission and the students'
personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to
bear individual responsibility for their work, to learn the rules and
definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity, and to
uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse
for disobeying them. Any student who attempts to compromise or
devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.
Learning involves the pursuit of truth, which cannot be pursued by presenting
someone elses work as your own. By following the procedure outlined below, you will
establish a basis of trust that will remain until you provide reason to suspect it has been
violated.
1) Visit http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html.
2) Read the policy in its entirety.
3) The first homework assignment is read, print, and sign the Student Agreement
located at the end of this syllabus and bring it to class. The Student Agreement
contains an acknowledgement that you have read and understood Baruch
Colleges policy on cheating as well as that you understand the courses policy on
grading.
For further discussion of plagiarism and clarification of its parameters, see the online
plagiarism tutorial prepared by the Newman Library faculty at
http://newman.baruch.cuny.edu/help/plagiarism/default.htm. If questions remain, please ask
me. As stated in the policy itself, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse for unacceptable

practices.
To reiterate, cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses. Academic sanctions for
such behavior will range from a D or F on the assignment or exam to a D or F for the course.
In addition, I am required by College policy to submit a report of suspected academic
dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students. This report then becomes part of your
permanent file.
Students with Disabilities:
Students with disabilities may receive assistance and accommodation of various sorts
to enable them to participate fully in courses at Baruch. To establish the accommodations
appropriate for each student, please alert contact the Office of Services for Students with
Disabilities, part of the Division of Student Development and Counseling. For more
information contact Ms. Barbara Sirois, Director of this office in B2-271 or at (646) 312-4590.

How to Succeed In This Course

1.

Online preparation:
a. Read the assigned material, either online through Connect or directly from the text. Fill out the
provided Student Notes as you go and make a list of questions you have.
b.

Put the effort into LearnSmart; do NOT speed through it. Try to answer the questions you had
from the text using LearnSmart.

c.

Take your time with the quiz. There is no time limit and it is open book and notes. Take the time to
get the right answers. Your preparation is a key factor in your performance in this class and how much
knowledge you will take away.

d. Post questions that need immediate answers to the forum. Discussion forums will be created for
each chapter. If you have a question, please go to the forum first to see if anyone else has asked the
same question and received an answer. If not, please post the question.
2.

Class sessions:
a. Before each class, review your notes from the previous chapter and make a list of any
outstanding questions. This review is an important process in determining your level of
understanding of course material. If you are having problems with materials previously covered in
class, it is imperative that we resolve any questions that you have as soon as possible. If you do not
understand a point made in class, chances are that your neighbor has a similar lack of understanding.
b.

Attend every class session and be on time. The importance of attending each and every class session
cannot be overstated. In addition, coming to class late disturbs other students as well as the instructor.

c.

Pay attention and participate in class. This means that you come to class completely prepared, take
notes on the discussion, ask questions when appropriate, and actively solve any problems given.
Passively sitting back and waiting for answers to questions without putting in the effort first hinders
the learning process. During class sessions you should not text, email, surf the internet, sleep, etc.

3.

Rework problems, both those discussed in class and assigned online. Class discussions are highly
representative of the material that I expect you to glean from this course. Further, because class discussions
often exceed the difficulty level provided in the text, it is important that you understand this material in
preparation for your exams. It is important that you not only understand the problems discussed in class, but
also understand the issues well enough to analyze and solve related problems as well as problems that integrate
multiple ideas presented in this course.

4.

If you are ever confused, please seek help. Because of the speed of this class and its partial-online nature,
falling behind can easily spiral out of control and have devastating consequences on your ability to learn new
material. I encourage you to reach out to me with any questions. In addition to contacting me in class, I am
also available for office hours by appointment or can be contacted via email.

Course Outline:
The below schedule is an approximate outline of the course. Additional topics may
be covered while topics listed below may be skipped as time and circumstances dictate.
08/27 1st Session

CLASS

Course introduction & ethics

09/01 2nd Session

CLASS

Chapter 1: Introduction to tax

rd

ONLINE

Chapter 2: Tax compliance

th

CLASS

Chapter 2

ONLINE

Chapter 3: Tax planning strategies

09/24 6th Session

CLASS

Chapter 3

09/25 7th Session

09/03 3 Session
09/08 4 Session
09/10 NO CLASS
09/15 NO CLASS
09/17 5th Session
09/22 NO CLASS

ONLINE

Chapter 4: Exemptions & filing status

th

CLASS

Chapter 4

th

ONLINE

Chapter 5: Gross income/exclusions

09/29 8 Session
10/01 9 Session

10/06 10th Session CLASS

Chapter 5

th

Chapter 6: Individual deductions

th

10/13 12 Session CLASS

Chapter 6

10/15 13th Session CLASS

Preparation for Mid-term

10/08 11 Session ONLINE

th

10/20 14 Session CLASS

MID-TERM EXAMINATION

10/22 15th Session ONLINE

Chapter 7: Individual tax computation & tax credits

10/27 16th Session CLASS

Chapter 7 & Mid-term review

th

10/29 17 Session ONLINE

Chapter 8: Business income/deductions & accounting

methods
11/03 18th Session CLASS
th

Chapter 8

11/05 19 Session ONLINE

Chapter 9: Property acquisition & cost recovery

11/10 20th Session: CLASS

Chapter 9

st

11/12 21 Session: ONLINE

11/17 22

nd

Session CLASS

11/19 23rd Session CLASS

th

11/24 24 Session ONLINE

Chapter 10: Property dispositions

Chapter 10
Chapter 10 & catch-up/review
Chapter 11: Investments

11/26 NO CLASS
12/01 25th Session CLASS
th

Chapter 11

12/03 26 Session CLASS

Group Presentations

12/08 27th Session CLASS

Group Presentations

th

12/10 28 Session CLASS

Preparation for Final Exam

TBD

FINAL EXAM See Exam Schedule for date and time

STUDENT AGREEMENT

I have visited http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html, read Baruch Colleges policy on

cheating in its entirety, understand the policy, and agree to act in accordance with the principles it expresses.
In addition to the policy on cheating, the following policies are designed and strictly enforced in order to ensure that
no one student has or gets an advantage over the other students against whom they are competing.
1.

Grades are determined competitively based on your relative standing in the class. I adhere to the policy
regarding grade distribution for 3000-level courses as set out by the Accounting Department and as
recommended by the Executive Committee. This policy states that no more than 20% of the students shall
receive an A grade, no more than 40% an A or B grade, and no more than 70% an A, B, or C grade. The grades
of this course will be curved to obtain such distribution. Given this distribution, do not ask me what you will
need to get on exam X to improve grade Y to grade Z. This would require me to know in advance what
your performance will be in the future relative to your peers.
(NOTE: Pluses and minuses are not represented in this distribution.)

2.

Your grades are determined solely by YOUR performance relative to your peers on the quizzes, assignments,
participation, and exams. I will not entertain grade requests (i.e., I need a [insert grade] in this course
because [insert reason],), as such requests are inappropriate. You will receive the grade YOU earn.

3.

There are no make-ups ever. This is applicable to quizzes, exams, all assignments and anything for which
grades are assigned in this class.

4.

There is no extra credit available. There is nothing extra you can do at any time to change your letter grade
other than performing better on the remaining quizzes, projects, class participation and exams.

5.

If you miss exam due to ANY reason, additional weight will be put on the final because there are no make-up
exams.

6.

The exam dates and times are set. If you know now that there will be a conflict or if you become aware of a
conflict you have two choices, either drop the class or re-weight your final exam.

7.

Once you take an exam the score will count for the full assigned percentage of your grade. After the fact claims
of illness, sleep deprivation, conflicts with work, conflicts with sports, conflicts with family, and excuses of any
sort will not be considered.

8.

If you start an exam and have a sudden illness or emergency you will not be allowed to complete the remainder
of the exam at a later time or date. Whatever score you get on the incomplete exam counts toward your final
grade. Your final exam will not be re-weighted should you be unable to complete a midterm.

9.

I will evaluate participation after each class period. Your final participation score reflects the quality and the
quantity of your questions/comments over the course of the ENTIRE semester. Please understand that simply
asking a large number of questions does not guarantee a high participation score if the questions do not
consistently benefit the class as a whole. In addition, unprofessional behavior (i.e., arriving late, texting/talking
during class, sleeping, sending inappropriate emails, etc.) during the semester will affect your final
participation/professionalism grade.

I, ________________________________________, understand the above policies.

PRINT STUDENT NAME

STUDENT SIGNATURE: ______________________________________________________

DATE: ______________________________________________________________________