 Hello, and welcome to this session. This is Professor Farhad in which we would look at CPA exam questions, specifically filing status. This, these topics will cover on the rec section on the CPA exam, as well as an income tax course. As always, I would like to remind you to connect with me only then. If you haven't done so, YouTube is where you would need to subscribe. I have 1,700 plus accounting, auditing, tax, finance, as well as Excel tutorial. Filing status is covered heavily in my income tax course. So if you are not confident about this topic, I suggest you check out my website where I have these topics covered much, much more in details. As always, I would like to remind you to like my lectures. If you like them, share them, put them in playlists. If they benefit you, it means they might benefit other people. Share the world, subscribe to the channel, connect with me on Instagram. On my website, farhadlectures.com, this is where you find the additional resources, for example, filing status is covered in my individual income tax course, and I do have supplementary information for all other accounting courses and CPA exam sections. So I strongly suggest, check out my, let's take a look at the first question. Maggie and Mansour were single for all of the year 12 and lived mostly apart until December 31st when they flew to Las Vegas and were married shortly before midnight. Where is Maggie and Mansour filing status for year 12? So what they did is they married December 31st, but all year long, they were single. So how did they file? Well, hopefully you will know this immediately. Their filing status should be married, filing jointly, because here's what happened. The IRS cares about your filing status as of December 31st, the last day of the year, and notice they married before midnight. Therefore they would file as married, filed and jointly. Now, although I use my name and my wife's name, but this is kind of a true story because when I got married, I got married late December and my wife kept insisting, why? Why do you want to be married by the end of the year? And specifically I wanted to get married before Christmas and New Year's Eve. And you know, that was my argument to my wife, but my true argument was if I get married before the beginning of the year, I could have the married filing jointly status, which is a tax advantageous status as far as the IRS are concerned. So this is not, you know, I was not married in Las Vegas, but the point is they would look at your, at your, at your marital status as of December 31st. Even that last night you are married. You are married for the full year. You had the full year tax qualification as married filing jointly, which is advantageous tax status. Let's take a look at Nicole's husband, who he died in year one. Nicole did not remarried. She continued to maintain a home for herself and her dependent infant child during year two and year three and year four, providing full support for herself and her child during those three years. For year four, what is Nicole filing status? Okay. So let's take a look at this. We have year one. This is where the spouse died in year one. They would, they would file married filing jointly. That's, it doesn't matter in year two. We have year two, year three and year four. Here's what's going to happen. Since Nicole maintained a home for herself and her dependent infant child in those two subsequent year, she could file as a qualify widow. Simply put, it's a good tax advantageous status. But the question is what happened in year four? So the year your spouse has died, you could still married filing jointly. The two years after, as long as you have a dependent, you're maintaining a house for a dependent. This is important. Notice they, she had a dependent. Nicole had a dependent for year two and year three. Otherwise she'd either go back to single or maybe if she qualified for head of a household, but since she had a qualifying child and she maintained the house, it's qualify widow or widower. Year four, year four, that qualify widow or widow or the two years it's done, either ask us about year four. Since she did maintain a place for her infant child, she will be head of household. Therefore the answer is B. So this is kind of bit tricky because we always think you qualify for a head of a qualify widow or widow or you only qualify for widow or widower in year two and year three as long as you have a dependent child. You're maintaining a house for a dependent child. Once you're two and year three are gone, then you would either go back to single if you don't longer have anyone or if you're still maintaining the household for someone else as a dependent, you qualify for a head of household unless you got obviously married. That's a different situation. Let's take a look at this question. In year eight, Katelyn and Lee were married and had four dependent children. On May 1st, year eight, Lee packed his bags and abruptly deserted his family, gone. His whereabouts were still unknown to Katelyn at the time when she filed her year eight income tax return February 9th. What is the most advantageous filing status that Katelyn is legally allowed for year eight? OK, now, if she filed married filing jointly, actually, we don't have this option. But look, if Lee is gone, she needs his signature. Lee is gone. So married filing jointly is not an option. So it's not even an option here. Now, when you are married, when you are married, you are kind of limited, not limited, you could be married filing jointly. That's not an option. Married filing separately. That's here. They're asking us about the most advantageous option. That's not the most advantageous option here. The third option is since she's maintaining a house for her four children. Now she could go into head of a household as long as as long as the husband abandoned the home more than for the past six month or more. There has to be six month plus. And if we count from May 1st. So the date is important when Lee left. So May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. That's more than six months. Therefore, she would qualify head of a household. That's her most advantageous filing status in that situation. Let's take a look at this question for which of the following potential dependence with taxpayer not have not have to demonstrate that they provided more than half of the support. They don't have to provide that. They don't have to show that they provide more than half. Is it for the taxpayer qualifying child? Is it for taxpayers parent? Is it for both? Is it for neither? You just need to know that if you have a qualifying child, you don't have to show the demonstrate that you supported that child more than half of their support. It's that's a presumption. Therefore, I would say one is in. Therefore, A will survive, B is out, C will survive, D is out because one is in. Now, all we have to know is the taxpayers parent. Do you have or not have to demonstrate the more than 50% support for the parents? Yes, you have for the parents. Yes, you have to demonstrate that you supported your parents more than 50% in order to claim them. Or if you have a qualifying relative, the same concept. If you have a qualifying relative, you have to show that 50% plus support. You supported them more than 50% for them to be a potential dependent. For the qualifying child, you don't have to, therefore, C is out. What we're left with is A. Now, the filing status, I would say it's not a simple concept, but it's not a difficult concept. But on the exam, you started to have any issues with filing status. They may focus on this filing status, but I don't think it's that major of a topic. But the point is you don't take any chances. You get a question about filing status. It should be easy, peasy question for you. And what I can offer you is more explanation, more multiple choice, more practice when you go to my website, forhatlectures.com, and go to my individual income tax course to learn about the filing status. For some students, it's difficult, especially if you are an international student or you took your tax course a while ago or when you took the tax course, you did not really learn it or the teacher did not really explain it. Whatever the reason is, forhatlectures can save you within within this topic as well as other topics as well. I strongly suggest you check out my website, like my lecture, Study Hard CPA is a lifetime investment. Don't take it lightly. Good luck. And if you're still living through this coronavirus, stay safe.