Final answer:
In the context of S corporations, a shareholder's personal assets (option D) are NOT included in the at-risk amount since liability is typically limited to the amount they have invested in the company.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has inquired about what is NOT included in a shareholder's at-risk amount for S corporations. The at-risk rules are designed to limit loss deductions to amounts that the taxpayer has at risk in the activity. In this context, a shareholder's at-risk amount typically includes their cash contributions, amounts borrowed with recourse (where the shareholder is personally liable for repayment), and other economic contributions to the corporation. Certain types of borrowing, like nonrecourse loans, where the lender's only recourse in case of default is to seize the property financed with the loan and the borrower is not personally liable, are generally not included in the at-risk amount because the shareholder does not bear the economic risk of loss.
Moreover, while a shareholder may have significant personal assets, unless those assets are pledged as collateral or otherwise exposed to corporate liability, they do not count towards the shareholder's at-risk amount in the S corporation context. Therefore, the answer to the question is that a shareholder's personal assets are NOT included in their at-risk amount for S corporations, as their liability is generally limited to the amount they have invested in the corporation.