MEMORANDUM
Date : Fall 2022
To : ACCT 6353.
From : Steven Solcher
Subject: Memo Assignment – ABC Corp.
ABC Corp. has two classes of stock issued and outstanding –
- common stock, and
- nonvoting preferred stock.
Both the common and the preferred stock are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. (The exact number of shares of either class is not relevant to the present issue.)
ABC’s board of directors authorized the payment of the following cash dividends during 2020:
Common Stock
January 2 $5M
April 1 $5M
July 1 $5M
October 1 $25M
Preferred Stock
March 15 $15M
July 1 $15M
September 15 $16M
December 15 $18M
ABC had accumulated E&P of $75M as of January 1, 2020.
On or about August 10, 2020, ABC realized an ordinary loss of approximately $200M, This loss was also recognized on the calendar year-end 2020 tax return.
ABC is a calendar-year corporation.
As a result of recognizing this loss, ABC experienced a deficit in the current (2020) E&P of $40M.
Issue
How much or which, if any, of ABC’s 2020 dividends should have been reported to shareholders as “ordinary dividends” (Form 1099-DIV, Box 1a), and how much or which, if any, should have been reported to shareholders as “Nondividend distributions” (Form 1099-DIV, Box 3)? Explain your analysis and support your conclusions.[1]
[1] Do not quote or cite your textbook; it is not “authority.”
