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Tax Topic 2 - Filing Basics

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Assignment for Topic 2 - Filing Basics

In this section, we will review some tax rules that affect every person who may have to file a federal income tax return. We will cover topics such as who must file, what filing status and how many exemptions to use. In addition, this section is about the standard deduction and taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions.

Please use the IRS Publication 501 to complete this tax assignment.

1. You must have lived in the house you maintained to claim head of household. This is true unless this house is for:                                                                  

A. A child
B. A parent
C. An aunt
D. A cousin

2. You must provide over half of the cost of keeping up a home for a child, parent, or other qualifying relative to file as "Head of Household." 

True False

3. If you are married, you could be considered unmarried for Head of Household purposes.                                                                                                  

True False

4. To qualify for you for Head of Household, a qualifying person can be   

A. A single son for whom you cannot claim and exemption but who lived with you for more than half the year.
B. A married child for whom you can claim an exemption.
C. A parent for whom you cannot claim an exemption.
D. A brother whom did not live with you for more than half of the year.

 

5. If a taxpayer is married, he must file jointly.      

True False

6. What are the five Filing Status' for tax year 2009 in the order that you see them on tax forms?

A. Single, Married filing jointly, Married filing separately, Head of household, and Qualifying Widow (er).    
B. Single, Married filing separately, Married Filing jointly, Head of household, and Qualifying Widow (er).
C. Single, Head of household, Married filing jointly, Married filing separately, and Qualifying Widow (er).
D. Single, Married filing jointly, Married filing separately, Qualifying widow (er) and Head of household.

 

7. A person who is single, is living alone, and has no dependents can file as Head of Household.                                   

True False

8. Esteban and his wife have been separated since May. They are not yet divorced. She has one child living with her. Esteban also has a child living with him. Of the following choices, what is the filing status that would not be possible for neither Esteban nor his wife?           

A. Single
B. Married filing jointly
C. Married filing separate
D. Head of Household

9. Jose is the only person maintaining a household for his father. He paid for all his father's upkeep. To claim him as a dependent, his father must be a resident of which of the following countries?                                

A. United States
B. Mexico
C. Canada
D. Any of the above
 

10. In order for a dependent to qualify you for the Head of Household filing status, the dependent can                       

A. Be your child who lived with you for at least 6 months of the year.
B. Be your parent who does not need to live with you any part of the year. 
C. Be your aunt who lived with you for at least 6 months of the year.
D. Any of the above
 

11. Which of the following does NOT meet the requirements to claim the Head of Household filing status?                              

A. Your spouse did NOT live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year.
B. You paid more than half of the cost of keeping up your home for the entire year.
C. You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year.
D. Your home was the main home for your foster child for only 5 months of the tax year.

12. For Head of Household purposes, if your father is your qualifying relative and he does not live with you, you must pay more than half the cost of keeping up his home for the year.                      

True False
 

13. For tax year 2009, please identify the 'Standard Deduction' amount for Married Filing Jointly:                                                      

A. $ 11,400 Federal.
B. $ 5,700 Federal.
C. $ 8,350 Federal.
D. $ 10,900 Federal.

14. If you and your spouse file separately, and your spouse itemizes her deductions, you must                                                           

A. Itemize your deductions also
B. Use the standard deduction instead
C. Tell her that she can't itemize because you are claiming the standard deduction
D. Split income between the two

15. If your spouse died in 2009, you can use the _______ filing status for tax year 2009, because it is more advantageous to do so.  

A. Single
B. Married Filing Jointly
C. Married Filing Separate
D. Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child.
                 

16. If you were married on or before December 31, 2009,  what can your filing status be for tax year 2009?  

A. Single
B. Married Filing Jointly
C. Married Filing Separate
D. Both B and C are correct

17. Hector was widowed before January 1, 2009. He did not remarry in tax year 2009, and he did not have a child living with him. What is the only filing status that Hector can use?    

A. Single
B. Married Filing Jointly
C. Married Filing Separate
D. Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child.

 

18. To qualify for 'Qualifying Widow(er) With Dependent Child' filing status, you must   

A. Have a qualifying child living with you all year.
B. Have not remarried by the end of the year.
C. Have paid more than half of the cost of keeping up a home for your child.
D. All of the above
 

19. Henry wants to claim his aunt on his return. His aunt lives in Mexico and does not qualify for a social security number. How does Henry claim an exemption for her if she doesn't have a valid social security number?   

A. He can obtain an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) from the IRS.
B. He can get her a fake number.
C. He can write "Applied For" in the social security number column.
D. Since she lives in Mexico a number is not required.
 

20. What is the Head of Household standard deduction amount for tax year 2009?  (for most people).                                         

 

A. $11,400 Federal.
B. $8,350 Federal.
C. $5,700 Federal.
D. $8,000 Federal

 

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