VITA

Which of these filing statuses is out of scope? A: SINGLE B: MARRIED FILING JOINTLY C: MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY

C: Married Filing Separately

Income that can be excluded for each of a taxpayer's dependents is called

Dependency Exemption

Three Tests (Dependent)

Dependent Taxpayer: Person who is dependent on someone someone else tax return cannot claim a dependent exemption Joint Return: a Person Filing a Joint return cannot be claimed as a dependent Citizen or Resident: Dependent must be a US citizen, resident alien, US National, or resident of Canada or Mexico

Qualifying relative Test ( 4 Conditions)

1) Cannot be a qualifying child 2) Gross income of relative cannot be or exceed $4200 3) Dependent must be related to taxpayer or must have lived with taxpayer all year as a member of the household 4. Taxpayer must provide for more than half of the dependents total support for the year

Exemptions (2 types)

1) Personal Exemptions: ability of taxpayer to claim the personal exemption for themselves, their spouse and qualifying dependents (there are no personal exemptions due to new tax legislation) 2) Dependency Exemption: Income you can exclude from taxable income for each of your dependents (qualifying relative or child) You can exclude 4,200 for each dependent

Qualifying widow/widower (2 Conditions)

1) taxpayer's spouse must have passed away in the last three years - If spouse dies in that current tax year, taxpayer may file as married filing jointly 2.) Must have a dependent and pay over half of the living expense

Qualifying Child Test (4 Conditions)

1. Support: Dependent must not provide more than 1/2 of their own support 2. Age: Dependent must be under the age of 19 or under 24 if a full time student 3. Relationship: child must be the son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, half sibling, or step sibling 4. Residency: Must be a US citizen and must have lived with you for more than 1/2 the year

Single (4 forms of singleness)

1. Unmarried 2.Legally Seperated 3.Divorced 4.) Widowed for three or more years and not remarried

What are the three dependency tests that need to be passed in order for a taxpayer to claim someone as a dependent?

1.) Dependent Taxpayer: Taxpayer can't be the a dependent on someone else tax return 2.) Residency: Dependent must a US citizen, or resident of Canada or Mexico 3) Joint Return: Dependent must not file a joint return

Head of Household (2 conditions)

1.) Must be single 2.) Have a dependent or qualifying relative - dependent must have lived more than 6 months in the residence - Taxpayer must have paid for more than half of dependent's living expense

Dependent

A person other than the taxpayer that grants the tax payer a deduction or credit, reducing their taxable income

Amanda's son, John, is a U.S. citizen and 19 years old. John is a full time student and lives on campus. Can Amanda claim John as a dependent?

Answer: Yes John passed the relationship, residency, and age test. He passed the residency test because he was not living at home for educational purposes.

Natalie pham is a u.s. Citizen and a recent uc davis graduate. She currently makes $80k a year, are we able to assist her with her tax return?

Answer: no People who receive a gross income of over $69,000 are considered to be out of scope.

Mika's cousin, Levi Ackerman, is a U.S. Citizen and has lived with her for more than two years. However, Levi receives a gross income of $6,500 so Mika cannot claim him as a qualifying relative. T/F?

Answer: true Although Levi passes the residency test and member of household test, he fails the grossincome test because he makes more than $4,200.

Bob's wife passed away in 2020. Does Bob file as... A: Widow B: Married Filing Jointly C: Married Filing Separately

B: Married Filing Jointly

A taxpayer can claim a personal exemption in the 2020 tax year True or False?

False

Exemptions are the total income a taxpayer made in a year. True or False?

False. This is AGI

Married Filing Separately

Married people who file two separate returns (This is out of Scope tho)

Married Filing Jointly ( and can still file as married filing jointly with 3 exceptions)

Must be married and living together for more than half of the tax year Exceptions: Illness, military, business trave

Mary is 20 years old, full time student, and is a U.S. citizen. Mary completely supports herself and pays all of her expenses on her own. She is also single. Can Mary's parents claim her as a dependent?

No! She doesn't pass the support Test

If a client offers you money for your service and they insist you accept their payment, is it okay to accept?

No! This goes against volunteer standards of conduct!

A child meets conditions to be a qualifying child of more than one person. Can the child be claimed on both tax returns?

No. one one person can claim the child as a a dependent on tax return

Adjusted gross income - exemptions = taxable income. True or False?

True

Out of Scope

We are unable to prepare their tax return. Examples: - income greater than 69k - J-1 Visa or internationals -Married Filing Seperately - Military - Schedule K-1

Gross Income

all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property, and services that isn't exempt from tax (aka total income made that year)

Exemption

an amount that can be deducted from the AGI to reduce taxable income

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)

total gross income minus specific deductions