Question

Tobias has a brokerage account and buys on the margin, which resulted in an interest expense of $52,000 during the year. Income generated through the brokerage account was as follows: Municipal interest $104,000 Taxable dividends and interest 520,000 If required, round any division to two decimal places and use in subsequent computations. Round your final answer to the nearest dollar. How much investment interest can Tobias deduct

Answer 1

Answer: $43,160

Explanation:

The amount of investment interest that can be deducted is:

= Interest expense * Proportion of total income that is taxable

Municipal interest is not taxable so the proportion of total income that is taxable is:

= Taxable dividends and interest / Total income

= 520,000 / (520,000 + 104,000)

= 0.83

Amount of investment interest that is deductible:

= 52,000 * 0.83

= $43,160