(1). E-mail (Conversion of Property from Personal Use to Business Use)
Chapter 13, Problem #66, Page 13-57
Assume you are a senior associate at Bottom Line & Associates. Please summarize your answer to
Problem #66 in an email message to your client (Ms. Surendra).
(2). Client Letter & Tax File Memorandum (Nell Potter, Sale of Residence)
Chapter 13, Problem #87, Page 13-62
Assume that you are a senior manager working in the tax department of Grant Thornton LLP
accounting firm. Your client, Ms. Nell Potter approaches you directly for advice regarding the tax
consequences of the sale of her residence that she owns with her two sisters. Please read Problem # 87
of Chapter 13 carefully before preparing the Client Letter to Ms. Nell Potter and Tax File
Memorandum for your firm’s tax files.
Writing Requirements:
• Client Letter: As discussed during our review session of Writing Assignment #1, please
follow formal business letter format (e.g., letterhead/sender, client/addressee, salutation, etc.).
Please refer to samples of client letters in the textbook, including Chapter 2, page 2 – 28,
Exhibit 2.10.
o The letter should be at least 1 page but no more than 2 pages (single-spaced).
o Your letter should include separate paragraphs with a discussion about (1) the relevant
facts; (2) tax issue(s) / research question(s); (3) calculation associated with the client’s
2021 Federal income tax return; (4) citation of relevant tax laws (IRC); and (5) clear and
logical arguments for your conclusion.
o To provide a solution to your client’s issue, you need to be able to identify the relevant
research question(s)/issue(s).
• Tax File Memorandum: Please refer to samples of tax file memorandum in the textbook,
including Chapter 2, page 2 – 27, Exhibit 2.9.
• Be sure to read the relevant chapter(s) before completing the assignment. The textbook cites
relevant code section(s) that you may want to look up and mention in your client letter and tax
file memorandum.
Page 1 of 2
Tax research involves, inter alia, the following procedures:
1. Identify the tax issue(s)
2. Discuss relevant facts and transactions
3. Identify appropriate tax law(s)
4. Provide your conclusions and support your analysis with clear and logical arguments
5 Discuss any assumptions made in arriving at the solution
Expectations
• The writing assignments are individual projects. Collaboration with others (i.e., anyone
including family, friends, students etc.) will result in a grade of zero.
• The penalty for late submissions is a deduction equal to 20% of assignment’s earned score per
day counting weekdays and weekends.
• You will be graded on the thoughtfulness of your discussion as well as on the writing quality
• The grading rubric is posted on Cougar Courses.
• Proofread your paper for spelling and grammatical errors, and check whether the paper reads
well. Consult a dictionary and/or a style manual for spelling and grammar problems.
• You will be graded on the persuasiveness of your arguments and whether your arguments are
well-supported by tax law(s).
• Avoid one-sentence paragraphs. By definition, a paragraph is a group of sentences constructed
around a central topic.
• Avoid contractions. Business reports (client letter) should not use contractions. For example,
use “should not” instead of “shouldn’t.”
• Try to use the active voice rather than the passive voice. For example, instead of writing “This
case was decided by the Tax Court,” write, “The Tax Court decided this case.” Papers written
in the active voice read easier, and using the active voice also conserves words.
• Nouns and their modifying pronouns must agree. An example of incorrect grammar: “The
Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government. They rejected the argument of the taxpayer.”
“Court” is a singular noun while “they” is a plural pronoun.
