Dependents and Qualifying Persons
Learn the decision pattern the exam can test, then apply it to a realistic taxpayer fact pattern.
What changes the answer?
A dependent can affect filing status and credits, but the requirements are not identical across those benefits.
A tax-practice scenario
Two family members could claim the same child. Determine residence, relationship, age, support, and tie-breaker facts before selecting a claimant.
Identify the taxpayer, entity, transaction, and tax period first. Write the controlling tests in order, apply only the relevant facts, and keep the reporting result separate from any planning recommendation.
Do not take this shortcut.
Treating the support test or residency test as interchangeable between qualifying-child and qualifying-relative rules.
Turn the rule into recall.
Use a fact grid with one column per dependency test and a separate row for each credit or status that relies on the person.
- ExplainState the governing distinction without notes.
- ApplyChange one fact in the scenario and predict the new result.
- RetrieveAnswer an unseen question, then review every option.
Official source and scope
This lesson follows the current PSI content outline and uses the IRS reference below for the underlying tax or practice framework. Always confirm current forms, instructions, thresholds, and effective dates before advising a taxpayer.