Case Studies: Overview

Case studies provide hands-on data entry experience on a variety of tax topics. Some case studies target a specific area, such as depreciation; others are more general. The Carson case study takes between 20 and 45 minutes to complete, depending on the expertise of the trainee.

CASE Account

A special account is included in every installation to which everyone has access. The account number is CASE. You can create new locators in this account if you have rights to create new locators in your office's primary account. If you do not have rights, ask the Administrator to create the training locators for you.

The CASE account differs from other accounts. The only locators that can be created are duplicates of the case studies. These locators have some data already entered. You follow instructions to complete the case by entering the remaining data. Case study locators cannot be archived or rolled over to next year.

Creating returns in the CASE study account do not count against your licensed return count.

Case Study Topics

The 1040 Carson case study teaches tax application navigation. This case study should be completed first. Be sure to consult the Carson Case Study Guide on this site.

For all case studies, you can go to the case study facts directly from the main Case Studies screen. Case study facts include the targeted areas for the case (for example, depreciation), a summary of the case situation, a listing of the return information to be entered, and hints and specific instructions for entering data.

Return Type	Case Study Name	Targeted Areas
1040	Carson, Frank and Marilyn Print Guide	Taxpayer/dependents Wages Interest Dividends Schedule C income Depreciation Capital gain/loss (stocks) Itemized deductions Charitable contributions
1040	Doe, John and Mary Print Guide	Foreign income, Schedule C Foreign income interest Physical presence test Foreign earned income Foreign tax credit
1040	Frazer, Thomas and Deborah Print Guide	Taxpayer Information Dependent Information W-2 Information Interest Income Seller Financed Mortgage Interest Dividend Income Schedule C Information Depreciation Rental Property Personal/Business Use Property Miscellaneous Income Prior Year Installment Sale Disposition of Depreciable Property Employee Business Expenses Alimony Payments Household Employment Taxes Child and Dependent Care Credit Transmittal Letter and Filing Instructions Current Year Non-deductible IRA Contributions Contributions: Cash and Other Noncash Contributions *Georgia Resident Return Child’s Interest Income Gambling Wins/Losses Tax Exempt Interest Foreign Dividend Income Business Expenses Office-In-Home K-1 Data Capital Gains and Losses IRA Contribution Itemized Deductions Estimated Tax Payments Foreign Tax Credit
1040	Sands, Charles and Freda Print Guide	Passive Activity Coding K-1s Alternative Minimum Tax Incentive Stock Options Research Expense Tax-exempt Interest Self-employment Tax Insurance Premiums for Self-employed Estimated Tax Payments
1040	Smith, Robert and Mary Print Guide	Basic data entry techniques Navigating through the system Using Organizer and Tax Forms
1040	Stuart, Jerry and Shirley Print Guide	Taxpayer Information Wages Interest Schedule C Employee Business Expenses Schedule F Capital Gain/Loss Sale of Home Child Care Expenses Mortgage Interest, Taxes, Points Dependents Excess FICA State Income Tax Refund Depreciation with §179 Luxury Automobile Pension Distribution with Rollover Capital Loss Carryover
1041	Allen Trust Print Guide	Preparing a 1041 Return Distributions
1041	Walton Trust Print Guide	Preparing a 1041 Return Distributions Income and Deductions Allocable and Nonallocable Expenses Tax Exempt Income Rent and Royalty Property Foreign Tax Credit Payments and Estimates Estimated Tax and Underpayments Transmittal Letter Options Filing Instruction Options
1065	Dallas Partners Print Guide	Reviewing Bridge Defaults Charitable contributions Bridging the client trial balance Depreciation overrides Journal entries Sale of asset Importing the partner information Foreign taxes Transfer of interest Partner footnote Cash distributions Partnership/Partner Letters Special allocations New York partnership return
1065	TOP Partnership Print Guide	Distributions Transfer of interest Flow-through entity Special allocations Purchase of assets
1120	Bedford, Inc. Print Guide	Practice for new users Entering basic 1120 data Transmittal letter and filing instructions
1120	Bonco, Inc. Print Guide	1120 Bridging from a DIF file using Trial Balance Reviewing transfer errors Assigning TRCs (Tax Return Codes) Journal entries Merging data into the 1120 tax application
1120	SBC, Inc. Print Guide	Reviewing Bridge Defaults Foreign Taxes Bridging the Client Trial Balance Officers’ Compensation Importing the Shareholder Template Stock Transfer Adjusting journal entries Schedule K Depreciation State Allocation/Apportionment Indiana Iowa
1120	Tally, Inc. Print Guide	Bridging the Client Trial Balance Bridging Tax Combination Codes Journal Entries in Bridge Reviewing Bridge Defaults 1120 Tax Analysis Income and Deductions Depreciation Overrides Officer compensation Gains and Losses Foreign Owned Corporation Foreign Tax Credit NOL Carryovers State Allocation and Apportionment Arkansas California Illinois
990	The Better Outdoors Print Guide	Preparing a 990 Return Contributions

Additional Training

For additional training exercises, refer to the Computer- and Web-based training opportunities on https://CS.ThomsonReuters.com/training. These CBTs and WBTs include more in-depth information on basic navigation techniques.

Case Study Facts/case_study_overview.htm/TY2019

Last Modified: 01/25/2020

Last System Build: 06/17/2021