In: Accounting
1. John and Mary had been married for 15 years before John died in a car accident on December 31, 2019. Mary and her son, Daze, age 27 in 2018, continued to live at home in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Daze worked part-time (earning $3,500 in each of the four years) and attended the university on a part-time basis. Mary provided more than 50% of Daze’s support for all four years. What is Mary’s filing status for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022?
2. Assuming the same situation as above except that Daze earned $4,500 in each of the four years, what is Mary’s filing status for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022?
Part 1
Year |
Filing status |
2019 |
Married filing jointly (the year in which spouse, in that filing status will be married filing jointly) |
2020 |
Head of household (Mary does not qualify for qualifying widow status as she cannot claim Daze as dependent child as he does not satisfy age test. However, he can be claimed as dependent (qualifying relative) as he lives with Mary for the entire year, also Mary provides him more than 50% support. Moreover, his income is less than $4200. So, in 2020 Mary is single with dependent and as she is not eligible for qualifying widow status, she qualifies for head of household status. |
2021 |
Head of household |
2022 |
Head of household |
Part 2
Year |
Filing status |
2019 |
Married filing jointly |
2020 |
Single (Mary does not qualify for qualifying widow status as she cannot claim Daze as dependent child as he does not satisfy age test. Also, he cannot be claimed as dependent (qualifying relative) because he he lives with Mary for the entire year, also Mary provides him more than 50% support, his income is more than $4200. So, in 2020 Mary is single with no dependent and as she is not eligible for qualifying widow status, she qualifies for Single taxpayer. |
2021 |
Single |
2022 |
Single |