Luis's wife died in 2023. He has not remarried, and his 8-year-old son (his dependent) lived with him all of 2025 in a home Luis paid entirely for. What is Luis's best 2025 filing status?

Head of household, with his son as the qualifying person

A taxpayer's marital status for the entire tax year is generally determined as of which date?

The date on which the taxpayer was married for more than half the year

Which of the following is NOT a requirement for a married taxpayer to be "considered unmarried" and file as head of household?

The taxpayer's spouse must have filed a separate return claiming single status

The home was the main home of the taxpayer's child, stepchild or foster child for more than half the year, and the taxpayer can claim the child

The taxpayer's spouse did not live in the home during the last 6 months of the year

The taxpayer paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home for the year

Maria is single and pays more than half the cost of maintaining a separate apartment for her widowed mother, whom she can claim as a dependent. Her mother never lived with Maria in 2025. Can Maria file as head of household?

Yes, because a dependent parent does not have to live with the taxpayer

No, because the qualifying person must live with the taxpayer for more than half the year

No, because only a qualifying child can make a taxpayer eligible for head of household

Yes, but only if her mother is age 65 or older

For 2025, what is the maximum gross income a person may have and still be a qualifying relative (assuming all other tests are met)?

There is no gross income test for a qualifying relative

Three siblings each contribute to their father's support: Ann 45%, Ben 40%, Cara 15%. Nobody provides more than half. Which statement is correct about claiming the father under a multiple support agreement?

Any one of the three may claim him if the other two sign statements agreeing not to, because each contributed more than 10%

Cara cannot be part of the agreement because she contributed less than 20%

Only Ann may claim him because she contributed the most

Nobody may claim him because no one provided more than half of his support

Divorced parents share a 10-year-old child who lived with the mother 250 nights in 2025. The mother signs Form 8332 releasing her claim. Which benefit can the father claim?

The earned income tax credit based on the child

The child and dependent care credit

Head of household filing status based on the child

A child is a qualifying child of both her mother and her grandmother, who all lived together all year. The mother's AGI is $30,000 and the grandmother's AGI is $52,000. If both try to claim the child, who is entitled under the tie-breaker rules?

The mother, because a parent wins over a non-parent

Neither, because the child must be split between them

The grandmother, because she has the higher AGI

Filing status and dependents

There are five filing statuses (single, MFJ, MFS, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse), set by your marital status on December 31, and a dependent is either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative, each with its own tests.

Updated 2026-09-23 · 4 sources · By the EnrolledAgentKit team

Exam part

Part 1

Individuals

IRS domain

Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data

14 of 85 scored Qs

Tax year tested

2025

2026-27 SEE

Practice questions

10 free below

The rules the exam tests

Figures for tax year 2025, the year the 2026-27 SEE tests. Verify against the cited primary source.
Rule	What it says (2025)	Source
Marital status date	Last day of the tax year	Pub 501
Spouse died during the year	MFJ allowed for that year if not remarried	Pub 501
Qualifying surviving spouse	2 years after year of death; dependent child; pay over half the home cost	IRC 2(a)
Head of household	Unmarried or considered unmarried; pay over half the home cost; qualifying person lived with you over half the year (dependent parent may live elsewhere)	IRC 2(b)
Qualifying child	Relationship, age (<19, <24 student, any age if disabled), residency >1/2 year, did not provide >1/2 own support, joint return test	IRC 152(c)
Qualifying relative	Not a QC; relative or member of household all year; gross income < $5,200 (2025); you provide >1/2 support	IRC 152(d); Rev. Proc. 2024-40
Multiple support agreement	Group provides >50%; claimant gave >10%; others sign Form 2120	IRC 152(d)(3)
Divorced parents (Form 8332)	Releases CTC/ODC dependency claim only; HOH, EITC, dependent care stay with custodial parent	IRC 152(e)

Worked example

Facts: Nora is divorced. Her son (9) lived with her 220 nights; she paid 70% of the cost of her home. She signs Form 8332 for her ex-husband for 2025.

Result: Nora files head of household (the son is her qualifying person even though she released the dependency claim) and can claim the EITC and dependent care credit based on him. Her ex-husband claims the son as a dependent for the $2,200 child tax credit only.

Exam traps

Marital status is tested on December 31, not “most of the year”.
A qualifying child has no gross income test; a qualifying relative must be under $5,200 for 2025.
A non-relative can be a qualifying relative (member of household all year) but never makes you head of household.
Form 8332 does not move HOH status or the EITC.