[jeff]

REG Resources:

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REG Score Release: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-scores-results-release

[Heidi-O]

Kodiak I can explain how I understand it – don't know how clear it will be. As I understand the equation it is:

Income

+Dividends Received

= Total

– Charitable Contributions

= Taxable Income before DRD

There are two calculations that you need to do – the Div Rcvd Ded and the % Limit on Taxable Income. You use the same percentage for both. So if the DRD is at 80%, the limit on taxable income is 80%.

The amount that you can deduct from the Taxable Income Before the DRD is the LESSER of the two. But there's an excpetion (as always)

Exception: IF deducting the full DRD creates an NOL, you do not have to follow the rule that it must be the lesser of the two calculations – in that case you use the full DRD and create an NOL.

So, if taxable income before DRD is 150 and the Dividend was 100, and it's an 80% DRD – then we calculate:

150 x .8 = 120 (percentage limit of taxable income)

100 x .8 = 80 (Dividend Received Deduction) Since this is lesser, we would use it.

150 – 80 = 70

If Taxable Income Before DRD is 90 and the Dividend was 100 (at 80% DRD) – then we calculate:

90 x .8 = 72 (Percentage Limit of Taxable Income)

100 x .8 = 80 (DRD) Since this amount is higher than our Taxable income Limitation and It using it would Not Create a Loss, we use the 72 as our DRD

90 – 72 = 18

It Taxable Income b/4 DRD is 70 and the Div is 100 at 80% DRD then we calculate:

70 x .8 = 56 (Percentage limit of Taxable Income)

100 x .8 = 80 (DRD) This amount IS higher than the Percentage of Taxable Income BUT if we use this amount it will create an NOL – so we use it.

70 – 80 = (10)

Clear as mud? 🙂

FAR Aug 2012 79
AUD Oct 2012 84
REG Aug 2013 87
BEC Jan 2013 80

[Heidi-O]

Kodiak I can explain how I understand it – don't know how clear it will be. As I understand the equation it is:

Income

+Dividends Received

= Total

– Charitable Contributions

= Taxable Income before DRD

There are two calculations that you need to do – the Div Rcvd Ded and the % Limit on Taxable Income. You use the same percentage for both. So if the DRD is at 80%, the limit on taxable income is 80%.

The amount that you can deduct from the Taxable Income Before the DRD is the LESSER of the two. But there's an excpetion (as always)

Exception: IF deducting the full DRD creates an NOL, you do not have to follow the rule that it must be the lesser of the two calculations – in that case you use the full DRD and create an NOL.

So, if taxable income before DRD is 150 and the Dividend was 100, and it's an 80% DRD – then we calculate:

150 x .8 = 120 (percentage limit of taxable income)

100 x .8 = 80 (Dividend Received Deduction) Since this is lesser, we would use it.

150 – 80 = 70

If Taxable Income Before DRD is 90 and the Dividend was 100 (at 80% DRD) – then we calculate:

90 x .8 = 72 (Percentage Limit of Taxable Income)

100 x .8 = 80 (DRD) Since this amount is higher than our Taxable income Limitation and It using it would Not Create a Loss, we use the 72 as our DRD

90 – 72 = 18

It Taxable Income b/4 DRD is 70 and the Div is 100 at 80% DRD then we calculate:

70 x .8 = 56 (Percentage limit of Taxable Income)

100 x .8 = 80 (DRD) This amount IS higher than the Percentage of Taxable Income BUT if we use this amount it will create an NOL – so we use it.

70 – 80 = (10)

Clear as mud? 🙂

FAR Aug 2012 79
AUD Oct 2012 84
REG Aug 2013 87
BEC Jan 2013 80

[Heidi-O]

Kodiak A way to sum it up:

After adding in your dividends to income and after deducting your charitable contributions – deduct your DRD. If this creates a loss, then use it. If it does not create a loss, then calculate the DRD % on the income after your charitable deductions and use the lesser of the two.

FAR Aug 2012 79
AUD Oct 2012 84
REG Aug 2013 87
BEC Jan 2013 80

[Heidi-O]

Kodiak A way to sum it up:

After adding in your dividends to income and after deducting your charitable contributions – deduct your DRD. If this creates a loss, then use it. If it does not create a loss, then calculate the DRD % on the income after your charitable deductions and use the lesser of the two.

FAR Aug 2012 79
AUD Oct 2012 84
REG Aug 2013 87
BEC Jan 2013 80

[Anonymous]

@Kodiak – The DRD falls into the category of those corporate / Individual tax calculations which require you to “Modify” the Taxable / Adjusted gross income and memorize a certain RULE. Rules are great on the exam because there is no grey area, its either black or white, dead or alive, right or wrong, I can keep going…. you get the picture. Next how to make sense of all this…

Included in those modified calcs are: the AMT calculations, Taxable social security benefits, the NOL, the Casualty & theft Gains and losses, and our near and dear the Dividends Receieved Deduction, just to name a few. If you are comfortable in understanding that Taxable Income or AGI is modified in certain instances and Rules are a matter of memory, you are ok so far.

Next, following @Heidi-o‘s example, when dealing with rules, always try and think in terms of “IF” and “Then” or in terms of Equations ( youtube this if unclear). Generally, You want to sum up the rules pertaining to the particular calculation ( I.e. DRD ), memorize it and put it away into the “things I had to do for the CPA exam” drawer in your head and move on with your life…. So lets do it:

First, is the modified Taxable Income portion. When you see DRD you need to memorize that ALWAYS

TI = Taxable Income +Dividends Received ( this is the before the DRD part or “Add-Back” or Modify part) – Charitable Contributions = Taxable Income before DRD.

Second, the rule itself. In this case DRD = Taxable Income – (( lesser of (80% of TI or 80% of DR ) or DRD = Taxable Income if DRD = NOL).

some1 please double check me for accuracy – its been a long day, but nevertheless we just took paragraphs of confusing words which make my head hurt and turned them into one concise line.

G'luck

[Anonymous]

@Kodiak – The DRD falls into the category of those corporate / Individual tax calculations which require you to “Modify” the Taxable / Adjusted gross income and memorize a certain RULE. Rules are great on the exam because there is no grey area, its either black or white, dead or alive, right or wrong, I can keep going…. you get the picture. Next how to make sense of all this…

Included in those modified calcs are: the AMT calculations, Taxable social security benefits, the NOL, the Casualty & theft Gains and losses, and our near and dear the Dividends Receieved Deduction, just to name a few. If you are comfortable in understanding that Taxable Income or AGI is modified in certain instances and Rules are a matter of memory, you are ok so far.

Next, following @Heidi-o‘s example, when dealing with rules, always try and think in terms of “IF” and “Then” or in terms of Equations ( youtube this if unclear). Generally, You want to sum up the rules pertaining to the particular calculation ( I.e. DRD ), memorize it and put it away into the “things I had to do for the CPA exam” drawer in your head and move on with your life…. So lets do it:

First, is the modified Taxable Income portion. When you see DRD you need to memorize that ALWAYS

TI = Taxable Income +Dividends Received ( this is the before the DRD part or “Add-Back” or Modify part) – Charitable Contributions = Taxable Income before DRD.

Second, the rule itself. In this case DRD = Taxable Income – (( lesser of (80% of TI or 80% of DR ) or DRD = Taxable Income if DRD = NOL).

some1 please double check me for accuracy – its been a long day, but nevertheless we just took paragraphs of confusing words which make my head hurt and turned them into one concise line.

G'luck

[Kodiak]

@Heidi, @1bent,

Thank you for taking the time to write out those explanations — appreciate it. I think I understand it now. Sometimes just hearing somebody else explain it makes everything click!

AUD - Pass
FAR - Pass
BEC - Pass
REG - Nov

[Kodiak]

@Heidi, @1bent,

Thank you for taking the time to write out those explanations — appreciate it. I think I understand it now. Sometimes just hearing somebody else explain it makes everything click!

AUD - Pass
FAR - Pass
BEC - Pass
REG - Nov

[stokey45]

Well guys I found out Friday I did not pass REG. I did not finish one Simulation so I am not surprised. I tested at the beginning of the window so I moved on to BEC but I want to go back to do REG again.

I gave myself the weekend off because it was my husband's birthday and he wanted to go out of town and visit family. We did that and now I am back to the books. I have purchased the Ninja Audio and Notes and will use them in addition to my Becker Review material. When I failed AUD, I went right back to it and used the Ninja Audio & Notes and it was a big help. I passed with an 80! For me, it seems to help after I have already been thru the material one time. When it is my first time going thru I take my own notes and it takes me a while to write them out. The good side of this is I have a good understanding of the material but the bad side is I start to forget what I learned in chapter one when I am moving thru the book.

This time I am going to do it the Ninja way and listen to all of the lectures first, then rewrite the Ninja notes, then do the questions. I am going to try this again and I hope with success.

I have to be honest, I have been at this for a long time. It has been since 2009. I am tired and loosing some (A LOT) of my momentum. I have until Feb 2014 to finish up REG and BEC. I need a new mindset with regards to the CPA exam. Feeling very burned out!!

I have already taken all of the exams and passed but lost REG & BEC. It took me 3x to pass AUD and during that time is when I lost BEC & REG. I work for an accounting firm and during tax season it is almost impossible to study which delays my study/test taking time as well. It has been a long journey. I will feel so relieved when I am done.

[stokey45]

Well guys I found out Friday I did not pass REG. I did not finish one Simulation so I am not surprised. I tested at the beginning of the window so I moved on to BEC but I want to go back to do REG again.

I gave myself the weekend off because it was my husband's birthday and he wanted to go out of town and visit family. We did that and now I am back to the books. I have purchased the Ninja Audio and Notes and will use them in addition to my Becker Review material. When I failed AUD, I went right back to it and used the Ninja Audio & Notes and it was a big help. I passed with an 80! For me, it seems to help after I have already been thru the material one time. When it is my first time going thru I take my own notes and it takes me a while to write them out. The good side of this is I have a good understanding of the material but the bad side is I start to forget what I learned in chapter one when I am moving thru the book.

This time I am going to do it the Ninja way and listen to all of the lectures first, then rewrite the Ninja notes, then do the questions. I am going to try this again and I hope with success.

I have to be honest, I have been at this for a long time. It has been since 2009. I am tired and loosing some (A LOT) of my momentum. I have until Feb 2014 to finish up REG and BEC. I need a new mindset with regards to the CPA exam. Feeling very burned out!!

I have already taken all of the exams and passed but lost REG & BEC. It took me 3x to pass AUD and during that time is when I lost BEC & REG. I work for an accounting firm and during tax season it is almost impossible to study which delays my study/test taking time as well. It has been a long journey. I will feel so relieved when I am done.

[Anonymous]

@stokey45 – If you are unsure about giving up that means you don't want to give up! You are not alone, it is a hard test, you are doing the right thing by using this forum and any other tool. I am, much like a lot of people on here , in the same boat as you. The scenario is something like the cartoon where the character is in a sinking row boat and new holes keep popping up and he is just going nuts plugging them up… My mentor had recommended a very good book for me a few years back and it has helped me tremendously; Study Smarter not Harder https://www.amazon.com/dp/1551808498 – Its an easy read and is really a great tool for anyone looking to expand on their ability to process and retain information.

on perseverance and determination. Within the past several years I have had almost every unfortunate even happen to me at or around test time, from deaths in the family announced at test date, broken bones and casts, Chicken Pox ( as an adult they are kind of like a massive hangover coupled with a fewer that lasts for about 2 weeks), to Hurricane Sandy nearly washing away our family home, and a few nervous breakdowns ( thank g-d for whiskey :). I am not looking for the pity here and am simply sharing with you some of my experiences to show you that life tends to throw us curve balls when we least expect them. Did I want to quit? Yes! Did I feel like a bum and a failure ? You better believe it! But at the end of the day – you have no choice but to find the strength inside yourself to persevere, push through, and move with the force of bulldozer. This forum has proven time and time again to be a foundation of wellness for me. At my worse days just logging in and seeing activity, reading success stories, communicating, reveals to me that there are others and that motivates me. Jeff did a wonderful thing by creating this forum and more so the name is a motivational piece in and of itself as it defines a genre of test takers who are like you and I.

I will leave you with this video. It is a motivational speech given by a high school coach to his team before their game. I believe the origins are from the Army Special Forces, but he did an excellent job at applying it to his teams situation. I listen to it daily and hope it brings you or anyone reading this the same motivation as it does for me.

Good luck in your journey!

GA

[Anonymous]

@stokey45 – If you are unsure about giving up that means you don't want to give up! You are not alone, it is a hard test, you are doing the right thing by using this forum and any other tool. I am, much like a lot of people on here , in the same boat as you. The scenario is something like the cartoon where the character is in a sinking row boat and new holes keep popping up and he is just going nuts plugging them up… My mentor had recommended a very good book for me a few years back and it has helped me tremendously; Study Smarter not Harder https://www.amazon.com/dp/1551808498 – Its an easy read and is really a great tool for anyone looking to expand on their ability to process and retain information.

on perseverance and determination. Within the past several years I have had almost every unfortunate even happen to me at or around test time, from deaths in the family announced at test date, broken bones and casts, Chicken Pox ( as an adult they are kind of like a massive hangover coupled with a fewer that lasts for about 2 weeks), to Hurricane Sandy nearly washing away our family home, and a few nervous breakdowns ( thank g-d for whiskey :). I am not looking for the pity here and am simply sharing with you some of my experiences to show you that life tends to throw us curve balls when we least expect them. Did I want to quit? Yes! Did I feel like a bum and a failure ? You better believe it! But at the end of the day – you have no choice but to find the strength inside yourself to persevere, push through, and move with the force of bulldozer. This forum has proven time and time again to be a foundation of wellness for me. At my worse days just logging in and seeing activity, reading success stories, communicating, reveals to me that there are others and that motivates me. Jeff did a wonderful thing by creating this forum and more so the name is a motivational piece in and of itself as it defines a genre of test takers who are like you and I.

I will leave you with this video. It is a motivational speech given by a high school coach to his team before their game. I believe the origins are from the Army Special Forces, but he did an excellent job at applying it to his teams situation. I listen to it daily and hope it brings you or anyone reading this the same motivation as it does for me.

Good luck in your journey!

GA

[jeff]

Free BLITZ: Property Transactions

https://www.another71.com/ninja-blitz/

[jeff]

Free BLITZ: Property Transactions

https://www.another71.com/ninja-blitz/

[stokey45]

@1BENTCPA

WOW!

I watched the video and it is very good! Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am not quitting. I am just tired and it seems that only those who are taking the test today can relate. I work for 2 CPAs who took the exam several years ago and I feel as if they just don't get it. Also, my family, who loves me, hates to see me miss family functions and hates to see me get so upset when I did not pass another exam. Yes, I agree with you, I cannot thank Jeff enough for doing what he has done with this website. It is a place I can go to pour out my frustrations and someone else will totally understand what I am talking about!

I passed FAR the end of last year but had lost REG AND BEC. I felt I would go in and knock out REG in July (after tax season). I can't help from wondering if I was feeling a little too self assured that I had passed this exam before and I really wasn't fully prepared. When I left the exam I knew that I had not passed; matter of fact, I didn't even finish! I felt sooooooo defeated. So depressed. My Mom was saying, “Honey, maybe this is not for you.” Well, that did not make me feel much better. I want to be a CPA, I just want the exams to be done.

I will keep moving forward, but I have lost some of my drive and confidence. I try to push it out of my mind but I sometimes wonder will I ever be done? I also ask myself “How much longer can you continue to do this?”

Maybe after I pass REG I will have a better outlook.

Thanks again for your words of encouragement. I can see you have had your own share of struggles, which within reality are much more severe than mine. I will also look into the book that you recommend.

Thanks again and thanks to Jeff for all he has done to support all of us potential CPAs.

[Author]

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