Julia provides more than 50 percent of the support for three individuals: Theresa,an unrelated child who lives with Julia all year long; Margaret,Julia's cousin,who lives in another city; and Emma,Julia's daughter who lives in her own home.Each of the potential dependents earned less than $4,000.How many dependency exemptions can Julia claim on her 2015 tax return?
A)0
B)1
C)2
D)3

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to IRS rules, in order to claim a dependent, the individual must have provided more than half of their support for the year. In this case, Julia provided more than 50% of the support for Theresa, an unrelated child who lives with her all year long, and for Margaret, her cousin who lives in another city. Since Emma, Julia's daughter, lives in her own home, it is assumed that she is providing more than half of her own support, and therefore cannot be claimed as a dependent. Since there are two individuals for whom Julia provided more than half of their support and who meet the other criteria for being a dependent, she can claim two dependency exemptions on her 2015 tax return.

Julia Provides More Than 50 Percent of the Support for Three