Answer:
Peter Paulson has to make a purchase of $300,000 in order to exclude or defer all gain realized.
Explanation:
The gains received by Peter if he received the proceed of $550,000 is given as
[tex]\dfrac{550,000}{180,000}=3.05556[/tex]
This ratio is greater than 3. Thus the value of gain is positive. Now in order to find the gains, calculate the value of amount received so that no gains are calculated. It is 2.38889 times of the original value, this comes out to be $430,000.
Now the gains are
Gain=$550,000-430,000=$120,000
In order to find the minimum purchase price, it is equal to gains plus the original value of the house which is
Min Purchase=Gain+180,000
Min Purchase=120,000+180,000
Min Purchase=$300,000
So Peter Paulson has to make a purchase of $300,000 in order to exclude or defer all gain realized.