filing status

In 2010, Claudia and her spouse Raymond adopted two-year-old Rachel. Although eligible to file jointly, Claudia and Raymond always filed separately. In October 2021, Claudia's spouse died. She continued to support Rachel and she did not remarry. Which filing status should Claudia use for 2021?

Either Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately

Lily left her spouse in August of the tax year. She took all her children with her, supported them the entire year, and claims them as dependents. She will not file a joint return with her spouse. Which filing status should Lily use?

Married Filing Separately. Lily could have filed as Head of Household had she not lived with her spouse during any part of the last six months of the year.

Mrs. Calvin is divorced and lived with her 21-year-old unmarried son, Drew, all year. She paid for all their rent and food, and provided more than half of Drew's total support. She cannot claim Drew as a dependent because he earned $5,000 and is not a student. Which filing status should Mrs. Calvin use?

single

Spouses who live apart are still considered married until they are divorced or legally separated. T/F

true

as long as you don't live with your spouse for the last 6 months of the year, you can qualify for head of household. T/F

true

if your spouse died during the tax year, but you already filed jointly, it has no effect on whether you qualify for qualifying widower. T/F

true

if your spouse died during the tax year, you can still file "married filing jointly or married filing separately" T/F

true

to be a head of household, you must claim a dependent. T/F

true

you can qualify for qualifying widower for two years after your spouses death. T/F

true

Carol and Roger were married three years ago and have no children. Although they lived apart during the entire tax year, they are neither divorced nor legally separated. Can Carol and Roger use either of the married filing statuses?

yes. Correct! As long as they are married and are neither divorced nor legally separated, Carol and Roger can use Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.

Martin and Rita got divorced in December, and neither has remarried. Even though Martin supported Rita all year, is he still required to file as Single?

yes. Neither Martin nor Rita can use the married filing statuses because they were divorced before the end of the tax year. They both must file as Single unless either of them has a qualifying person that would make them eligible to file as Head of Household.

does head of household need to be a relative?

yes. head of household must always be related to taxpayer.

how to qualify as a dependent

you must be younger than 19 yrs old. if not, the you must be a full-time student younger than 24

Ray and Brenda are not married but they lived together all year and have two children under 10 years of age. Ray paid all the rent, utilities, groceries, and other household expenses. They agreed that each would claim one child on their individual tax returns. What are the correct filing statuses for Ray and Brenda's returns?

Ray can file as Head of Household and Brenda must file as Single. Only Ray can file as Head of Household because he paid more than half the cost of keeping up their home.

Samantha is divorced and provided over half the cost of keeping up a home. Her five-year-old daughter, Pam, lived with her for seven months last year. Samantha has signed a written declaration allowing her ex-husband to claim the child as a dependent. Where should you enter Pam's name on Samantha's tax return?

Samantha may use Head of Household status because she is not married and she provided over half the cost of keeping up the main home of her dependent child for more than six months. However, because Samantha's ex-husband claims Pam as his dependent, Pam's name should appear in the entry space under the filing status checkboxes on Samantha's Form 1040.

Yolanda and Sean Mercer want to file under the Married Filing Separately status. If Yolanda wants to itemize deductions, then _____.

Sean must either itemize his deductions or claim a zero standard deduction

form 1040

The standard Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form that individuals use to file their annual income tax returns.

Becky and Frank were divorced on December 29 of the tax year. They have no children or other dependents and have not remarried. Their filing status should be:

single

Anne's husband died one year ago. Anne has not remarried during the current tax year, but she has a 18-year-old dependent son. Anne's filing status should be:

qualifying widower

how to qualify for head of household

dependent must be your relative dependent must live with you for at least half the year (6 months) you must have supported at least half of the cost of keeping up the home for your dependent

qualifying surviving spouse has highest tax. T/F

false. qualifying surviving spouse yields as low a tax amount as married filing jointly,

Jane's husband moved out of their home in February of the tax year and has not returned. Jane provides all the cost of keeping up the home for herself and her two dependent children. Jane refuses to file a joint return with her husband. What filing status should she use?

head of household

Cindy's husband died on August 19 of the tax year. Cindy has no dependents and has not remarried. She should file as:

married filing jointly

Ryan and Julie were married on December 29 of the tax year. They should file as:

married filing jointly

Jack has lived apart from his spouse for several years. Their children live with his spouse, but Jack pays more than half of the children's support. Which filing status can Jack use?

married filing jointly or married filing separately

Laura has always filed a joint return with her spouse, who died in September of the tax year. Laura, who did not remarry, provides all the support for her two dependent children, ages 7 and 9. Should Laura file as a Qualifying Surviving Spouse

no. For the year her husband died, Laura can file under the Married Filing Jointly status. The next two years she can file as a Qualifying Surviving Spouse.

Kathy, divorced with no children, lived with her unemployed roommate, Sandra, for the entire year. Kathy had to pay more than half of the cost of keeping up their apartment. Can Kathy use the Head of Household filing status?

no. sandra is not kathy's relative

two types of dependents

qualifying child and qualifying relative