4. Filing Status and Dependents
TAX-104 · Lesson 4

Filing status & dependents

⭐ 0 XP
Briefing · 1 min

Pick the right status.

What Dana said

5 filing statusesSingle, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse.
December 31 decidesMarital status on the last day of the year counts.
Head of householdUnmarried, pays over half the home costs, qualifying person lived there over half the year.
Qualifying child: 5 testsRelationship, age (under 19, or under 24 if a student), residency (over half the year), support, joint return. Ask the Form 8867 questions.
D
Three families come in today. Get each filing status right.
9:20 AM · Client 1

Meet Ana.

A
"I'm not married. I pay all the rent and bills, and my 7-year-old son lived with me all year."
10:45 AM · Client 2

Mark and Lisa.

M
"We got married on December 28th. Do we file as single this year?"
1:30 PM · Ana's nephew

Does Tyler pass each test?

Ana wants to claim her nephew Tyler. Tap pass or fail for each fact.

…
Passtest is met
    Failtest is not met
      3:00 PM · Due diligence

      Head of household interview.

      Tap the 3 questions you must ask (Form 8867).

      4:40 PM · Curveball

      Ana’s ex calls.

      E
      "I'm going to claim our son too."
      Jazzy

      Shift complete!

      🏅 Status Pro · 0 XP
      • Name all 5 filing statuses
      • Spot head of household
      • Run the qualifying child tests
      • Ask the due diligence questions

      See it in the software

      Short how-to videos from the Nationwide software. Tap a video to play it here.

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      Lesson notes

      Want the details? Tap a card to open it.

      What you will learn
      • How to determine the correct filing status
      • The tests for a qualifying child and a qualifying relative
      • Why head of household requires extra care
      The five filing statuses
      • Single
      • Married filing jointly
      • Married filing separately
      • Head of household: unmarried (or considered unmarried), paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and a qualifying person lived there more than half the year (special rule for a dependent parent).
      • Qualifying surviving spouse: for two years after the year of a spouse’s death, with a dependent child.

      Marital status is generally determined on the last day of the tax year (December 31).

      Qualifying child tests
      1. Relationship: child, stepchild, foster child, sibling or a descendant of one of them.
      2. Age: under 19, or under 24 and a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled (and younger than the taxpayer).
      3. Residency: lived with the taxpayer more than half the year (with exceptions such as temporary absences).
      4. Support: the child did not provide more than half of their own support.
      5. Joint return: generally did not file a joint return.
      Qualifying relative

      A person who is not a qualifying child of anyone, has gross income under the annual limit, receives more than half of their support from the taxpayer, and either lives with the taxpayer all year or is a listed relative.

      Due diligence

      Head of household status, the child tax credit and the earned income credit all require due diligence questions (Form 8867). Ask who lives in the home, who pays the bills and how long each child lived there, and keep notes.

      Key terms
      • Filing status: The category that sets the standard deduction and tax brackets
      • Qualifying child: A dependent who meets relationship, age, residency, support and joint return tests
      • Tie-breaker rules: Rules that decide who may claim a child that qualifies for more than one person
      Practice example (fictional)

      Ana is unmarried, pays all the rent and bills for her apartment, and her 7-year-old son lived with her all year. Filing status? Head of household, with her son as a qualifying child (after asking the due diligence questions).

      Official sources
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