- 6 - Although petitioner testified that she has never been married to Mr. Her, she filed a return as married, filing jointly, with Mr. Her, for the taxable years 1996, 1997, and 2000. Mr. Her received his Form W-2 statements and unemployment benefits at petitioner’s residence in 2001. A 2003 property transfer record recites that petitioner was a “married woman”. The evidence leads the Court to conclude that petitioner was married in 2001, despite her testimony to the contrary. Under section 7703(b)(3), a taxpayer who maintains as a home a household that constitutes the principal place of abode for more than one-half of the year of a child for whom the taxpayer is entitled to a deduction under section 151 is deemed to be “not married” if, during the last 6 months of the year at issue, the other spouse did not reside with the taxpayer. As previously discussed, petitioner did not establish that she maintained a household or that she is entitled to the dependency exemptions. Petitioner, therefore, does not satisfy the requirements of section 7703(b). The Court holds that petitioner is not entitled to the earned income credit because she failed to file a joint return with Mr. Her. Section 21(a) generally provides allowance for a credit against the tax to any individual who maintains a household that includes as a member one or more qualifying individuals. The term “qualifying individual”, under section 21(b), includes aPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011