Problem: Henrietta, the owner of a very successful hotel chain in the Southeast, is exploring the possibility of expanding the chain into a city in the Northeast. She incurs $56,500 of expenses associated with this investigation. Based on the regulatory environment for hotels in the city, she decides not to expand. During the year, she also investigates opening a restaurant that will be part of a national restaurant chain. Her expenses for this are $50,400. She proceeds with opening the restaurant, and it begins operations on May 1.
Determine the amount that Henrietta can deduct in the current year for investigating these two businesses.