| Course | ACC-4210 Federal Income Taxation |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Written Assignment 3: deductions, part 1 |
| Length | About 725 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Bachelor of Science in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for ACC 4210 Module 3
Kwame Asante, Wedding Photographer: What a Sole Proprietor Can Deduct and What Self-Employment Costs
Student Name
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Thomas Edison State University
ACC-4210: Federal Income Taxation
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Kwame Asante, Wedding Photographer: What a Sole Proprietor Can Deduct and What Self-Employment Costs
Introduction
Business expenses are deductible if they are ordinary and necessary for a trade or business and reasonable in amount, but the law disallows or limits several categories even when they relate to business. Self-employed people also pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare taxes. This assignment applies those rules to one photographer's year.
Part A: Discussion Questions
1. When does a business cost count as ordinary and necessary? An expense is ordinary if it is common and accepted in the taxpayer's line of business, though it need not be recurring, and necessary if it is appropriate and helpful, not indispensable. A second camera body is ordinary and necessary for a wedding photographer; a family vacation is not, even if the photographer takes pictures. Reasonableness limits amounts, which matters most when payments go to related parties.
2. Why does the law disallow some business-related costs? Some disallowances express public policy: fines and penalties paid to a government for breaking the law are not deductible, so the tax system does not soften the penalty. Others prevent personal consumption from being deducted: entertainment has been disallowed entirely since 2018, and business meals are limited to 50% because part of a meal is personal. Political contributions and lobbying are disallowed to keep the tax system neutral in politics (Young et al., 2024).
Part B: Kwame Asante's Schedule C
Kwame, 34 and single, photographed 31 weddings in 2024 and received $96,000. He has run the business for five years, books clients through his own website and keeps a separate business checking account, all signs that it is a trade or business carried on for profit rather than a hobby. That matters, because hobby income is taxable while hobby expenses are not deductible at all. He works from a dedicated 250-square-foot room in his apartment and drove 9,200 business miles, deducted at the IRS's 2024 rate (Internal Revenue Service [IRS], 2023).
Net profit on Schedule C is $96,000 minus $20,014, or $75,986.
| Item | Amount spent | Deductible | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camera body and two lenses | $7,800 | $7,800 | Expensed under Section 179 rather than depreciated |
| Editing software subscriptions | 1,200 | 1,200 | Ordinary and necessary |
| Advertising on wedding planning websites | 2,300 | 2,300 | Ordinary and necessary |
| Meals with engaged couples during planning | 1,400 | 700 | Business meals limited to 50% |
| Lodging for a destination wedding in Cape May | 600 | 600 | Travel away from home overnight for business |
| Vehicle: 9,200 business miles at the 2024 standard rate of 67 cents | 6,164 | 6,164 | Standard mileage method |
| Home office: 250 square feet at $5 under the simplified method | 1,250 | 1,250 | Regular and exclusive business use |
| Golf with a wedding venue manager | 400 | None | Entertainment is not deductible |
| Ticket for speeding to a Short Hills ceremony | 180 | None | Penalties owed to a government are never deductible |
| Total deductible expenses | | $20,014 |
Self-Employment Tax
Self-employment tax applies to 92.35% of net earnings, a figure that mirrors the employer's share being deductible for an employee, at 15.3%: $75,986 x 92.35% = $70,173; $70,173 x 15.3% = $10,736. Half, $5,368, is a deduction for AGI.
From Net Profit to Taxable Income
For the deduction, Kwame's qualifying profit is what remains after the self-employment tax and health premium adjustments, $65,218, and a fifth of it is $13,044. The deduction is capped at 20% of taxable income before the deduction, $10,124, so the cap applies. Kwame's income is far below the $191,950 threshold where wage and property limits begin, so his service business qualifies without restriction.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Schedule C net profit | $75,986 |
| Deduction for half of self-employment tax | (5,368) |
| Self-employed health insurance premiums | (5,400) |
| Adjusted gross income | 65,218 |
| Standard deduction, single | (14,600) |
| Taxable income before the QBI deduction | 50,618 |
| Qualified business income deduction | (10,124) |
| Taxable income | $40,494 |
Total Federal Tax
Income tax on $40,494 is 10% of $11,600, $1,160, plus 12% of $28,894, $3,467, totaling $4,627. Adding self-employment tax of $10,736 gives total federal tax of $15,363, about 16% of his gross receipts. Self-employment tax is more than twice his income tax, which is why quarterly estimated payments matter for photographers like Kwame: no employer withholds either tax. Slemrod (2007) found that compliance is far lower for income not subject to withholding or third-party reporting, such as sole proprietors' receipts, which is why records of every booking and expense deserve care.
References
Internal Revenue Service. (2023). Notice 2024-08: 2024 standard mileage rates.
Slemrod, J. (2007). Cheating ourselves: The economics of tax evasion. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(1), 25-48. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.21.1.25
Young, J. C., Nellen, A., Persellin, M. B., Lassar, S. S., Cuccia, A. D., & Cripe, B. M. (2024). South-Western federal taxation: Individual income taxes, 2024 (47th ed.). Cengage Learning.
What the ACC 4210 Module 3 instructions ask for
Written Assignment 3 covers Module 3, Deductions, Part 1, which deals with the general rules for deductions, business and investment expenses, and the deductions of self-employed taxpayers. Its essays and problems come from the business deduction chapters, and every number has to be shown being computed. Expect questions on the ordinary and necessary standard and disallowed expenses, and problems that sort a business's costs, apply limits on meals, vehicles and home offices, compute self-employment tax and work out the qualified business income deduction. The photographer is invented, but the rules and 2024 amounts are the ones your assigned problems will use. Many items also ask whether an activity is a business or a hobby, since hobby income is taxed while hobby costs are not deductible.
How this ACC 4210 Module 3 example is built
Part A answers two discussion questions, defining ordinary and necessary with examples and explaining the policy behind each major disallowance. Part B gives the photographer's facts and sorts nine costs in a table that states what was spent, what is deductible and why, arriving at net profit. Self-employment tax is computed in two lines. A second table carries net profit through AGI and the standard deduction to taxable income, and the qualified business income deduction is computed with both limits shown. The assignment closes with income tax, total federal tax and a research finding on compliance for income without withholding, tying the numbers back to the taxpayer's practical obligations. Every figure in the final tax traces back to a line in one of the two tables.
Where the marks sit in the ACC 4210 Module 3 rubric
Over a quarter of the ACC-4210 grade, 26 percent, rides on six homework sets like this one, and every figure must show how it was reached. On this assignment, they check that each cost is classified correctly with the right limit, especially meals, entertainment, fines, vehicles and home offices; that self-employment tax uses 92.35% of net earnings and the correct rate; that half of it and self-employed health insurance are deducted for AGI; and that the qualified business income deduction is limited correctly. Discussion answers earn credit for explaining purposes. Clear tables that show amounts spent and deductible amounts side by side make the work easy to verify and protect partial credit. A sentence on what the self-employment tax means for estimated payments shows the practical judgment mentors like to see.
ACC 4210 Module 3 help from the desk
The usual mistakes on this assignment are deducting entertainment, which has been disallowed since 2018, deducting meals in full instead of at 50% and deducting fines. In self-employment tax, multiply net earnings by 92.35% before applying 15.3%, and remember the deduction for half of it. For the qualified business income deduction, compute 20% of qualified business income and 20% of taxable income before the deduction, then take the smaller amount. Check whether the taxpayer is above the threshold where service business limits apply. A writer can prepare your assigned Schedule C problems in this layout, starting with a free sample. Keep a mileage log and receipts in mind as you answer, since substantiation questions often appear in this module.
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ACC 4210 Module 3 questions, answered
Where can I find a free ACC 4210 Module 3 sample paper?
This page shows the whole Schedule C assignment: discussion questions on business deductions and a photographer's Schedule C, self-employment tax, the QBI deduction and total 2024 federal tax.
Are business meals deductible in 2024?
Generally 50% of qualifying business meals is deductible; entertainment such as golf or event tickets is not deductible at all.
How is self-employment tax calculated?
Take 92.35% of the year's self-employment profit and charge 15.3% on it up to the Social Security ceiling, 2.9% beyond, then deduct half of the result above the line.
What was the 2024 standard mileage rate?
67 cents per business mile driven in 2024.
How is the qualified business income deduction limited?
You compute a fifth of the business profit that qualifies and a fifth of taxable income before the deduction, keep the lower figure and watch for extra limits at higher incomes.