Brandon Christopher Merriweather - Page 5




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            claim (1) a dependency exemption for Calesa, (2) head-of-                                   
            household filing status, and (3) an EIC.                                                    
            Dependency Exemption                                                                        
                  Section 151(c) allows a taxpayer to deduct an exemption                               
            amount for each dependent, as defined in section 152.  A                                    
            dependent is an individual in one of the categories listed in                               
            section 152(a), over half of whose support is received from the                             
            taxpayer.  Sec. 152(a).  In order to qualify as a dependent, the                            
            individual must be related to the taxpayer in one of the ways                               
            enumerated in section 152(a)(1) through (8), or, if the                                     
            individual is unrelated to the taxpayer, the individual must live                           
            with the taxpayer and be a member of the taxpayer’s household                               
            throughout the entire taxable year of the taxpayer.  Sec.                                   
            152(a)(9); sec. 1.152-1(b), Income Tax Regs.; Trowbridge v.                                 
            Commissioner, 268 F.2d 208 (9th Cir. 1959), affg. 30 T.C. 879                               
            (1958); Turay v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-315; Butler v.                               
            Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-355.                                                          
                  Although petitioner identified Calesa as his daughter on his                          
            1997 return, he is not related to her by blood or marriage.                                 
            Calesa did not live with petitioner during all, nor even the                                
            majority, of 1997.  Accordingly, petitioner was not entitled to                             
            claim a dependency exemption for Calesa for 1997.                                           
            Head of Household                                                                           
                  In order to qualify for head-of-household filing status,                              






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