Anna is supported entirely by her three sons John, James, and Joseph who provide for her support in the following percentages: Assuming a multiple support declaration exists, which of the brothers may claim his mother as a dependent?
A)any of the sons
B)James or Joseph
C)Joseph only
D)None of them

Question

Anna is supported entirely by her three sons John, James, and Joseph who provide for her support in the following percentages:  Assuming a multiple support declaration exists, which of the brothers may claim his mother as a dependent?
A)any of the sons 
B)James or Joseph 
C)Joseph only 
D)None of them

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to IRS rules, for a multiple support declaration to apply, the qualifying person must receive over half of their support from the combined support of all the potential claimants. In this case, Anna's sons provide a total of 33% of her support, which is less than half. Therefore, none of the sons can claim her as a dependent. However, if a multiple support agreement exists, and each son provides over 10% of Anna's support, then James or Joseph could claim her as a dependent. In this case, John's percentage of support is too low to be considered a potential claimant.

Anna Is Supported Entirely by Her Three Sons John, James