Resource Tool for Tax Counselorstaxaide.us/pubs/2015_Qualifying_Child_flow_charts.pdfThank you for...
Transcript of Resource Tool for Tax Counselorstaxaide.us/pubs/2015_Qualifying_Child_flow_charts.pdfThank you for...
Thank you for serving as a volunteer with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide. It is volunteers like you who make this program so great! However, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide can’t operate and serve 2.6 million taxpayers without volunteers who are willing to take on additional responsibility in a leadership role. As a leader, you can help even more taxpayers in your community than you do as a counselor. Talk to your supervisor about leadership roles you could fill in your district, state or region.
Most of the volunteers in AARP Foundation Tax-Aide are involved because someone they knew asked them to join the program. Why don’t you ask someone that you know, whether in your own community or across the country, to become a Tax-Aide volunteer?
It’s a great way to work your mind while warming your heart!
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complete an income tax return. Discussion of politics, race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion and the impact of income tax policies are inappropriate, since each of them can become an unnecessary source of conflict between volunteers and taxpayers.
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The above notes are a summary of the Volunteer Standards of Professionalism. For more information, consult the full document in the Policy Manual.
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Resource Tool for Tax CounselorsCopyright obtained by AARP. All Rights Reserved.
This document has been prepared for general information purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as tax or other advice. The charts and related specifications may assist Tax-Aide Volunteers in determining who is a qualifying child or qualifying relative for certain tax benefits as listed below. The charts should not be relied upon solely and the user is advised to confirm the results to their own satisfaction. Not all terms are defined or explained in these pages. Tax-Aide volunteers should refer to appropriate reference materials for complete details. Printed by AARP Foundation Tax-Aide based in part on charts created by Deb Fisher, Tax-Aide Training Specialist, Idaho. For use by AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Volunteers Only. All other use prohibited unless permission granted. Call 800-424-2277 for more information.
D19929 (815)
Dependent Care Credit Qualifying person can be your spouse who is incapable of self-
care. No need to use charts. If married, must file MFJ unless you lived apart from your spouse all the last half of the year and paid more than half the cost to maintain a home for both you and the child or disabled person. Taxpayer(s) must have earned income. Special rules apply if MFJ and either spouse is a full-time student or incapable of self-care. You must make the payments so you can work or look for work. Purpose of payments must be for person’s well being and protection—not education (below kindergarten ok; day camp ok, household services ok if partly for well-being or protection). Payments cannot be made to your spouse, to the child’s other parent (with some exceptions for a disabled person), to your dependent, or to your child who is under age 19. You must have made a reasonable effort to get provider’s name, address and tax identification number (SSN or EIN).
Earned Income Tax Credit You cannot file MFS. If married to NRA spouse must file MFJ. You must have earned income (other than penal income). You cannot have investment income over a certain amount. Taxpayer must be U.S. citizen or resident alien all year. You must live with the child in U.S. at least half the year. You cannot claim the foreign earned income exclusion. EIC cannot have been disallowed by IRS due to fraud in last 10 years.
Education Credits You cannot file MFS. Payments must be to a qualifying institution. Payments must be for qualifying expenses. For tuition and fees adjustment, payments must be made by or on behalf of TP. Payments made from certain tax-free funds can-not be included. Neither taxpayer can be treated as a non-resident alien for tax purposes. American Opportunity Credit: 1st 4 tax years, at least ½-time, toward certificate or degree, no felony drug convictions. Only one credit or adjustment per student. Some-times unused expenses can be used elsewhere.
Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child Your spouse must have died during previous two years. See special rules if he or she was missing in action. You were eligible to file MFJ with the deceased in the year of death. You have not remarried.
Medical Expense Deduction You must have paid the expenses and not used them elsewhere on the return. You can also claim expenses paid this year for someone who was your qualifying person when the expenses were incurred.
Dependency exemption Child tax credit Education credits Qualifying widow(er) filing status
Head of household filing status Child and dependent care credit and exclusion Earned income tax credit Medical expense deduction
Chart 1, the Qualifying Child chart, has two pages and is used for your child, your sibling, or a descendant of any of them. Chart 2, the Qualifying Relative chart, is for everyone else. Always start with Chart 1, Box 1. If Chart 1 does not apply, you will soon be sent to Chart 2.
If you follow the arrows, you will eventually get to a shaded box that has no arrows leading away from it. At that point, STOP. This box tells you all the tax benefits that you can claim based on that person. You must meet other requirements as well. These charts will tell you if the child or person is a qualifying person for a particular tax benefit. Most benefits have other requirements as well. In addition to having a qualifying person, you also must meet these other requirements before you can claim any given benefit. The other requirements (not covered by the charts) are summarized at the bottom of this page.
When either chart says “TP” or “you,” it is referring to you, the taxpayer. When it uses the words “child, person, him, her, his, or hers,” it is referring to the child or other person who might qualify the taxpayer for tax benefits. The term “child” always includes an adopted child.
The term “education credits” refers to both education credits and to the tuition and fees adjustment if extended.
If the taxpayer can file married filing jointly, ignore the references to head of household and qualifying widow(er) filing status.
The small red numbers within each box are simply to identify it for discussion purposes.
Other Requirements Not Covered by Charts
Qualifying Child and Qualifying Relative Flow Charts
(for Form 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ) The following two charts can be used to determine who is your qualifying child and who is your qualifying relative for the following income tax purposes:
6/8/2015
Chart 1: QUALIFYING CHILD (page 1)
No
8
Yes
Yes
No
No
No Yes No
7 Yes
6 No
No
Was the child under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student during some part of each of any five months of the year?
Yes Was the child younger than you?
No
No
14
12
No This person is your qualifying child for:
No No
Yes
No
No Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
This person is your qualifying child for: Head-of-household (if you paid more than 1/2 the cost of keeping up a home for the year and are not married1) Earned Income Credit (if both TP and child have valid SSN’s, and TP is not qualifying child of another taxpayer) Child and dependent care credit (if child is under age 13 at time of care or incapable of self-care ) Medical expense deduction (if you are the parent)
Was the child in custody of one or both parents more than half the year?
24
Yes No
Yes 2
1 Was the child a U.S. citizen, national or resident alien or a resident of Mexico or Canada during the tax year?
Is this person someone you are adopting and who lived with you all year as a member of your household? [Answer “no” if you are not a U.S. citizen or national.]
Yes
Ye13
Is the child the qualifying child for any other taxpayer? [i.e. Except for temporary absences, did the child live with any other close relative (for example, parent, grandparent etc., aunt, uncle, older sibling) more than 1/2 the year?]
Yes
10 Except for temporary absences, did the child live with you for more than half the year? (See exceptions for birth, death or kidnapping.)
Yes Yes
No
Yes
Yes
No Yes
No Yes Yes
No Yes
No Yes
No
No
1: If you are married you can claim head of household only if your spouse is treated as a nonresident alien for tax purposes OR 1) the person is your child, step-child or eligible foster child, and 2) you lived apart from your spouse the entire last half of the year.
2: You can claim qualifying widow(er) if the person is your child or stepchild who lived with you all year except for temporary absences.
Yes
19BGo to Page 2 Block B
17 Go to Page 2 Block A
15 Did you give someone else in the household the right to claim the child as a qualifying child?
Are you the parent, step-parent or foster parent?
28
20 19A
18 16
Would you win the tiebreaker? Did the person who would win the tiebreaker give you the right to claim the child as a qualifying child? [This is different than waiver of exemption.]
Are you the noncustodial parent? An-swer “no” if parents live together with the child.
Is your AGI greater than the AGI of any one else who could claim the child?
Did child provide more than 1/2 his own support?
23 No
No
No Are they filing sepa-rate returns?
27
Are the parents divorced, legally separated or lived apart all last 1/2 of the year?
26
21 Is the child filing a MFJ tax return? [Answer “no” if they are filing only to get a refund of withholding or estimated tax paid]
19C 22 Can YOU the TP (or your spouse if filing MFJ) be claimed as a dependent on anyone else’s return?
Go to Page 2 Block D
Go to Page 2 Block C
5
Was the child under age 19 at the end of the year?
This person is not your qualifying child nor your qualifying relative for any tax purpose.
3
4a
Was the child your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half–sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them?
This person is not your qualifying child. See Chart 2 to determine if he or she is your qualifying relative.
Was the child permanently and totally disabled?
11 Go to Page 2 Block A
This person is your qualifying child for:
Earned Income Credit (if child is not married, both TP and child have valid SSN’s, and TP is not the quali-fying child of another taxpay-er) 30 31
9
Head of household1 or Qualifying Widow(er)2 (for either, if you paid more than 1/2 the cost of keep-ing up a home for the year). See footnotes. Dependency exemption Child and dependent care credit (if child under age 13 at time of care or incapable of self-care)
Education credits Earned income credit (if both TP and child have valid SSN’s, and TP is not the qualifying child of an-other taxpayer) Child tax credit (if child is under age 17 and a citizen, national or resident of the U.S.)
Medical expense deduction
29
Did one or both parents (or their new spouses) provide more than 1/2 of his support?
Does the noncustodial parent have the right to claim the child’s exemption per Form 8332 or pre-2009 divorce decree? [Answer “no” if you are the noncustodial parent.] See Pub 17 if decree is pre-1985.
See other requirements on first page.
Is the child married?
Does he meet the five tests to be a qualifying child (age, relationship, abode, sup-port, and MFJ)?
This person is your qualifying child for head of household if you provided more than 1/2 the costs of maintaining the home and are not married or are married to a nonresident alien.
4b
4c
4d
6/8/2015
25
TP a
Dep
ende
nt
TP
and
chi
ld d
idn’
t liv
e to
geth
er m
ore
than
hal
f the
yea
r C
hild
Fili
ng M
FJ
34
47
33
32
No
BLOCK D: Generally, this person is not your qualifying child or qualifying relative for any tax purpose. If the child has a SSN, you can claim EIC with a different child, but you cannot claim EIC without a qualifying child. If you are the parent, and the tests for a child of divorced or separated parents are met, you can claim medical expens-es for this child.
Chart 1: QUALIFYING CHILD (page 2) No
Yes BLOCK A: Are you the noncustodial parent?
No Yes
No
Yes
This person is your qualifying child for: Child and dependent care credit (if child is incapable of self-care) Medical expense deduction (unless the noncustodial parent is claiming the exemption and you are not the parent) This person is not your qualifying child nor
qualifying relative for any tax purpose. 48
BLOCK C: Did the child provide more than 1/2 his own support?
49
This person is your qualifying child for: Earned Income Credit (if the child is not married, both TP and child have valid SSN’s, and TP is not the qualify-ing child of another taxpayer)
BLOCK B: Did the child provide more than 1/2 his own support?
53
Were the parents divorced or legally separated, had a written separation agreement, or did not live together during the last 1/2 of the year?
No
Yes 50
This person is your qualifying child for: Head of household (if you paid more than 1/2 the cost of keeping up a home for the year and are not married)3 Child and dependent care credit (if child is incapable of self-care) Earned income credit (if the child is not married, both TP and child have valid SSN’s and TP is not the qualifying child of another taxpayer) Medical expense deduction (unless the noncustodial par-ent is claiming the exemption and you are not the parent) 52 51
This person is not your qualifying child. See Chart 2 to determine if he or she is your qualifying relative.
Yes
No No Yes
No
Yes 40
No
Yes No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No Yes
Yes
43
Is the child filing a married filing joint tax return? [Answer “no” they are filing only for a refund of withholding or estimated tax paid.]
38
39 Was the decree or agreement executed after 2008?
Do you have a written declaration (Form 8332 or similar document) signed by the custodial parent releasing the exemption for this child?
Does the child receive at least half his or her support from parents (or their new spouses)?
35 Was the child in the custody of one or both parents more than half the year?
37
41 Before 1985?
Does your divorce decree or separation agreement uncondi-tionally allow you to claim the child for tax purposes?
Did you provide at least $600 for the child’s support during the year?
36
44
This person is your qualifying child for: Medical expense deduction
Can YOU, the TP, (or your spouse if married filing jointly) be claimed as a dependent on anyone else’s return?]
This person is a qualifying child for: Dependency exemption Child tax credit (if child is under age 17 and a US citizen, national or resident) Education credits (if not filing MFS) Medical expense deduction 46 45
This person is your qualifying child for:
Medical expense deduction 42
See other requirements on first page.
3: If you are married you can claim head of household only if your spouse is treated as a nonresident alien for tax purposes.
6/8/2015
See other requirements on first page.
Did you provide over half of his or her support?4 No
Yes
Yes
3 Was the person your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer? Yes No
Chart 2: QUALIFYING RELATIVE (or Other Person)
Yes
Yes No 1 Was the person a U.S. citizen, national or resident alien or a resident of Mexico or Canada for any part of the tax year?
2 Is this person someone you are adopting and who lived with you all year as a member of your household? [Answer “no” if you are not a U.S. citizen or national.]
This person is not your qualifying relative for any tax purpose.
6
This person is your qualifying relative for:
Dependency exemption Child & dependent care credit (must have lived with you more than 1/2 the year and be mentally or physical-ly incapable of self-care) Education credits (if not filing MFS) Medical expense deduction
25
No No
Yes 4 5
Did this person live with you all year as a member of your household except for temporary absences (and your relationship does not violate local laws)?
Was this person your Child, stepchild, eligible foster child or a descendant of any of them? Your brother, sister, half sibling, or a son or daughter of any of them? Your stepbrother, stepsister, stepfather or stepmother? Your father, mother, or an ancestor or sibling of either of them? Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law?
7 No
No
Yes Did you provide over half of his or her support?
Yes Yes
9
Did you provide more than 10% of his or her support and have a multiple support agreement signed by (or with written consent of) everyone who: 1. Could have claimed the exemption except for
the support test, 2. Provided more than 10% of the support, and 3. Jointly provided more than 1/2 of the support?
No
No
Yes
15
13
10
14
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
This person is your qualifying relative for: Head of Household5 or Qualifying Wid-ow(er)6 (for either, if you paid more than 1/2 the cost of keeping up a home for the year). See footnotes. Dependency exemption Education credits
Medical expense deduction Child & dependent care credit (must have lived with you more than 1/2 the year and be mentally or physical-ly incapable of self-care)
24
Yes
This person is your qualifying relative for:
Child and de-pendent care credit (must have lived with you more than 1/2 the year and be mentally or phys-ically incapable of self-care) Medical expense deduction
20
23
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
Was the person totally and permanently disabled?
No
Did the person have gross income (excluding tax exempt income such as social security) less than the exemption amount?
Was the person totally and permanently disabled?
Yes
Was this person your parent? 22
Except for temporary absences, did this person live with you more than half the year?
19
Did the person file married filing joint? [Answer “no” if filing only for a refund of withholding or estimated tax paid.]
17
Ignoring sheltered workshop income, was his or her gross income more than the exemption amount?
Can YOU (or your spouse if MFJ) be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return?
21
Did the person file married filing joint? [Answer “no” if filing only for a refund of with-holding or estimated tax paid.]
16
18
Ignoring sheltered workshop income, was his or her gross income more than the exemption amount?
Can YOU (or your spouse if MFJ) be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return?
No 12
Did the person have gross income (excluding tax exempt income such as social security) less than the exemption amount?
This person is not your qualifying relative for any tax purpose. 11
No Yes
No
8
6/8/2015
4: If you are the noncustodial parent and the rules for separated parents are met, over half the support can be provided by one or both parents. 5: If you are married you can claim head of household only if your spouse is treated as a nonresident alien for tax purposes OR 1) the
person is your child, stepchild or eligible foster child, and 2) you lived apart from your spouse the entire last half of the year. 6: You can claim qualifying widow(er) if the person is your child or stepchild who lived with you all year except for tem-
porary absences.
Hel
pful
Def
initi
ons
Tem
pora
ry a
bsen
ce: A
bsen
ce d
ue to
spec
ial c
ircum
stan
ces s
uch
as il
lnes
s, ed
ucat
ion,
bus
i-ne
ss, v
acat
ion,
or m
ilita
ry se
rvic
e. It
mus
t be
reas
onab
le to
ass
ume
the
abse
nt p
erso
n w
ill
retu
rn to
the
hom
e af
ter t
he te
mpo
rary
abs
ence
. You
mus
t con
tinue
to k
eep
up th
e ho
me
durin
g th
e ab
senc
e.
Tax
paye
r (in
Cha
rt 2)
: Som
eone
who
has
a fi
ling
requ
irem
ent o
r file
s to
clai
m a
refu
ndab
le
cred
it.
Cus
todi
al p
aren
t and
non
cust
odia
l par
ent:
The
cust
odia
l par
ent i
s the
pa
rent
with
who
m th
e ch
ild li
ved
for t
he g
reat
er n
umbe
r of n
ight
s dur
ing
the
year
. The
oth
er p
aren
t is t
he n
oncu
stod
ial p
aren
t. T
ie-b
reak
er R
ules
1.
The
par
ent o
r par
ents
2.
If p
aren
ts fi
le se
para
te re
turn
s and
bot
h cl
aim
the
child
, the
cus
todi
al p
aren
t; if
child
stay
s w
ith b
oth
pare
nts t
he sa
me
amou
nt o
f tim
e, th
e pa
rent
with
the
high
est A
GI
3. If
no
pare
nt c
an c
laim
the
child
, the
per
son
with
the
high
est A
GI
4. If
a p
aren
t can
cla
im th
e ch
ild b
ut d
oesn
’t, th
e pe
rson
with
the
high
est A
GI b
u t o
nly
if th
at A
GI i
s hig
her t
han
that
of a
ny p
aren
t who
cou
ld c
laim
the
child
G
ross
inco
me:
Gro
ss in
com
e m
eans
all
inco
me
you
rece
ived
in th
e fo
rm o
f mon
ey, g
oods
, pr
oper
ty, a
nd se
rvic
es th
at is
not
exe
mpt
from
tax,
incl
udin
g an
y in
com
e fr
om so
urce
s out
-si
de th
e U
nite
d St
ates
or f
rom
the
sale
of y
our m
ain
hom
e (e
ven
if yo
u ca
n ex
clud
e pa
rt or
al
l of i
t). In
clud
e on
ly th
e ta
xabl
e po
rtion
of s
ocia
l sec
urity
ben
efits
. Gro
ss in
com
e in
clud
es
gain
s, bu
t not
los s
es, r
epor
ted
on S
ched
ule
D. G
ross
inco
me
from
a b
usin
ess o
r far
m is
cal
-cu
late
d in
Par
t I o
f eac
h fo
rm. B
ut, i
n fig
urin
g gr
oss i
ncom
e, d
o no
t red
uce
your
inco
me
by
any
loss
es.
Inca
pabl
e of
self-
care
: Phy
sica
lly o
r men
tally
not
abl
e to
car
e fo
r one
self.
Per
sons
who
ca
nnot
dre
ss, c
lean
, or f
eed
them
selv
es b
ecau
se o
f phy
sica
l or m
enta
l pro
blem
s are
con
sid-
ered
not
abl
e to
car
e fo
r the
mse
lves
. Als
o, p
erso
ns w
ho m
ust h
ave
cons
tant
atte
ntio
n to
pre
-ve
nt th
em fr
om in
jurin
g th
emse
lves
or o
ther
s are
con
side
red
not a
ble
to c
are
for t
hem
selv
es.
ww
w.a
arp.
org/
taxa
ide
NO
NO
NO
NO
YE
S
YE
S
YE
S
YE
S
YES
D
eter
min
atio
n of
Fili
ng S
tatu
s –
Dec
isio
n Tr
ee
Wer
e yo
u m
arrie
d on
the
last
day
of t
he y
ear?
1
Did
you
r spo
use
die
durin
g th
e ye
ar?
Star
t Her
e
Do
all t
he fo
llow
ing
appl
y?
• You
r spo
use
died
in th
e 1st
or 2
nd y
ear
prio
r to
the
tax
year
and
you
did
not
re
mar
ry b
efor
e th
e en
d of
the
tax
year
. • I
n th
e ye
ar o
f dea
th, y
ou w
ere
entit
led
to fi
le a
join
t ret
urn
with
you
r spo
use.
• Y
ou p
aid
mor
e th
an 1
/2 th
e co
st o
f ke
epin
g up
you
r hom
e fo
r the
yea
r.2 • Y
our d
epen
dent
chi
ld o
r ste
pchi
ld li
ved
in y
our h
ome
all y
ear.
(A fo
ster
chi
ld o
r gr
andc
hild
doe
s no
t mee
t thi
s te
st.)3
Do
all t
he fo
llow
ing
appl
y?
• You
pai
d m
ore
than
1/2
the
cost
of
keep
ing
up y
our h
ome
for t
he y
ear.2
• A “q
ualif
ying
per
son,
” as
defin
ed o
n pa
ge B
-3, l
ived
with
you
in y
our
hom
e fo
r mor
e th
an 1
/2 th
e ye
ar.3
NO
MA
RR
IED
FIL
ING
JO
INTL
Y
OR
M
AR
RIE
D F
ILIN
G S
EPA
RA
TELY
6
QU
ALI
FYIN
G W
IDO
W(E
R)
SIN
GLE
7
HEA
D O
F H
OU
SEH
OLD
8
Foot
note
s:
1. A
nsw
er “N
O” t
o th
is q
uest
ion
if, o
n th
e la
st d
ay o
f the
yea
r, yo
u w
ere
lega
lly s
epar
ated
from
you
r spo
use
unde
r a d
ivor
ce o
r sep
arat
e m
aint
enan
ce d
ecre
e re
cogn
ized
by
your
sta
te o
r if y
ou a
re m
arrie
d to
a n
onre
si-
dent
alie
n w
ho w
ill n
ot b
e co
nsid
ered
a re
side
nt a
lien
on th
is ta
x re
turn
. Ans
wer
yes
if y
ou w
ere
mar
ried
rega
rdle
ss o
f whe
re th
e sp
ouse
live
s.
2. In
clud
e in
the
cost
of u
pkee
p ex
pens
es s
uch
as re
nt, m
ortg
age
inte
rest
, rea
l est
ate
taxe
s, in
sura
nce
on th
e ho
me,
repa
irs, u
tiliti
es a
nd fo
od e
aten
in th
e ho
me.
See
“Cos
t of K
eepi
ng U
p a
Hom
e” w
orks
heet
in P
ub
4012
. • P
aym
ents
rece
ived
und
er T
AN
F or
oth
er p
ublic
ass
ista
nce
prog
ram
s us
ed to
pay
the
cost
s of
kee
ping
up
the
hom
e ca
nnot
be
coun
ted
as m
oney
you
pai
d. T
hese
pay
men
ts m
ust b
e in
clud
ed in
the
tota
l cos
t of
keep
ing
up th
e ho
me
to fi
gure
if y
ou p
aid
over
1/2
the
cost
. • A
mou
nts
paid
out
of f
unds
rece
ived
from
SS
A in
the
child
’s o
r qua
lifyi
ng p
erso
n’s
nam
e, o
r fun
ds re
ceiv
ed
as g
over
nmen
tal a
ssis
tanc
e ar
e co
nsid
ered
to b
e pa
id b
y ot
hers
, not
by
you.
3.
See
Pub
licat
ion
17, F
iling
Sta
tus,
for r
ules
app
lyin
g to
birt
h, d
eath
, or t
empo
rary
abs
ence
dur
ing
the
year
. 4.
Unl
ess
the
child
’s o
ther
par
ent c
laim
s hi
m o
r her
und
er ru
les
for c
hild
ren
of d
ivor
ced
or s
epar
ated
par
ents
or
pare
nts
who
live
d ap
art.
5. Y
our s
pous
e is
con
side
red
to li
ve in
you
r hom
e ev
en if
he
or s
he is
tem
pora
rily
abse
nt d
ue to
illn
ess,
edu
ca-
tion,
bus
ines
s, v
acat
ion
or m
ilitar
y se
rvic
e.
6. If
the
taxp
ayer
wan
ts to
file
MFS
, em
phas
ize
the
adva
ntag
es to
Mar
ried
Filin
g Jo
intly
and
the
poss
ibilit
y of
fil
ing
Form
837
9, In
jure
d S
pous
e C
laim
& A
lloca
tion
(if a
ppro
pria
te).
See
Pub
17,
Filin
g S
tatu
s, M
FS S
peci
al
Rul
es fo
r lis
t of d
isad
vant
ages
. Res
pect
a ta
xpay
er’s
dec
isio
n to
file
MFS
. If e
ither
taxp
ayer
is d
omic
iled
in a
co
mm
unity
pro
perty
sta
te, s
ee P
ub 5
55.
7. If
you
are
mar
ried
to a
non
resi
dent
alie
n, y
our f
iling
sta
tus
is m
arrie
d fil
ing
sepa
rate
ly.
8. G
ener
ally
, onl
y on
e ta
xpay
er in
a h
ome
can
clai
m H
ead
of H
ouse
hold
fil in
g st
atus
. Jus
t bec
ause
eac
h pe
r-so
n ha
s th
eir o
wn
child
ren
livin
g in
a h
ome
does
not
mea
n th
ey h
ave
a se
para
te “h
ouse
hold
” for
this
filin
g st
atus
pur
pose
. No
te: I
f one
spo
use
dies
and
the
othe
r rem
arrie
s in
the
sam
e ye
ar, t
he d
ecea
sed
spou
se fi
les
Mar
ried
Filin
g Se
para
tely
.
NO
Did
you
and
you
r sp
ouse
live
apa
rt al
l of t
he la
st 6
m
onth
s of
the
year
?5
Do
all o
f the
follo
win
g ap
ply?
Y
ou fi
le a
sep
arat
e re
turn
from
you
r sp
ouse
. Y
ou p
aid
mor
e th
an
½ th
e co
st o
f kee
ping
up
you
r hom
e fo
r the
ye
ar.2
You
r hom
e is
the
mai
n ho
me
for y
our
child
, ste
pchi
ld o
r fo
ster
chi
ld fo
r mor
e th
an ½
the
year
.3 A
gran
dchi
ld d
oes
not
mee
t thi
s te
st.
You
cla
im a
n ex
emp-
tion
for t
he c
hild
.4
YE
S
Elig
ible
fost
er c
hild
mea
ns a
n in
divi
dual
who
is p
lace
d w
ith th
e ta
xpay
er b
y an
aut
horiz
ed
plac
emen
t age
ncy
or b
y ju
dgm
ent,
decr
ee, o
r oth
er o
rder
of a
ny c
ourt
of c
ompe
tent
juris
dic-
tion.
R
elat
ions
hips
not
term
inat
ed b
y di
vorc
e or
dea
th: m
othe
r/fat
her-
in-la
w, s
iste
r/bro
ther
-in- la
w, d
augh
ter/s
on-in
-law
, ste
psis
ter/b
roth
er, s
tepm
othe
r/ fa
ther
. Pe
rman
ently
and
tota
lly d
isab
led:
A p
erso
n is
per
man
ently
and
tota
lly d
isab
led
if bo
th o
f th
e fo
llow
ing
appl
y:
He
or sh
e ca
nnot
eng
age
in a
ny su
bsta
ntia
l gai
nful
act
ivity
bec
ause
of a
phy
sica
l or m
en-
tal c
ondi
tion.
A
doc
tor d
eter
min
es th
e co
nditi
on h
as la
sted
or c
an b
e ex
pect
ed to
last
con
tinuo
usly
for a
t le
ast 1
2 m
onth
s or c
an le
ad to
dea
th.
Full-
time
stud
ent:
A fu
ll-tim
e st
uden
t is a
stud
ent w
ho is
enr
olle
d fo
r the
num
ber o
f hou
rs
or c
ours
es th
e sc
hool
spec
ifies
as "
full-
time.
" It
incl
udes
an
indi
vidu
al p
ursu
ing
a fu
ll-tim
e co
urse
of i
nstit
utio
nal o
n-fa
rm tr
aini
ng u
nder
the
supe
rvi s
ion
of a
n ac
cred
ited
agen
t of a
n ed
ucat
iona
l org
aniz
atio
n. T
o be
con
side
red
a st
uden
t for
dep
ende
ncy
ex
empt
ion
purp
oses
, the
indi
vidu
al m
ust h
ave
been
a fu
ll-tim
e st
uden
t for
any
par
t of a
t le
ast f
ive
mon
ths d
urin
g th
e ta
x ye
ar.
Scho
ol d
efin
ed: A
scho
ol c
an b
e an
ele
men
tary
scho
ol, j
unio
r or s
enio
r hig
h sc
hool
, col
-le
ge, u
nive
rsity
, or t
echn
ical
, tra
de, o
r oth
er v
ocat
iona
l sch
ool.
How
ever
, an
on-th
e-jo
b tra
inin
g co
urse
, cor
resp
onde
nce
scho
ol, o
r sch
ool o
ffer
ing
cour
ses o
nly
thro
ugh
the
Inte
rnet
do
es n
ot c
ount
as a
scho
ol fo
r the
full-
time-
stud
ent d
epen
denc
y ex
empt
ion
requ
irem
ent.