Question

Matthew is 45 years old and made $80,000 in wages in 2018. He is single and pays all the cost of keeping up his home. Matthew’s daughter, Barbara, lived with Matthew all year. Barbara’s son, Henry, was born in April 2018.Henry lived in Matthew’s home since birth. Barbara is 18, single, and had $4,100 in wages in 2018. Barbara is not required to file a tax return. Matthew provides more than half of the support for both Barbara and Henry What is Matthew’s filing status: (Explain your answer) a. Single. b. Married jointly c. Head of household. d. Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. Who can Matthew claim as his dependents? (Explain your answer) a. No one b. Barbara Only c. Henry Only d. Both Barbara and Henry

Answer 1

You can file as head of household if:

• You are single or unmarried.
• You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home.
• You had a qualifying child or relative who lived with you in the home for more than half the year.

As below requirements are met Barbara is considered as Qualifying Child.

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

2. The child must be under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you

3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.

4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.

5. The child must not be filing a joint return for the year

Filing Status of Mathew is Head of Household.

If gross income is $4,150 or more then they were not considered as dependent.Barbara income is $4100. So she can be considered as dependent.Henry stayed for 8 months with Mathew.

Mathew provided more than half of the total support for Henry. So Henry can be considered as Qualifying Relative.

A Person can be claimed as dependent only if person is Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative.

So in above case both Barbara and Henry can be claimed as dependents.