- 4 -
Petitioner furnished only one-half of the rent and
babysitting costs for a total of 5 months of 2004 and cannot
substantiate any further contribution to the children’s support.
Accordingly, petitioner failed to carry his burden of proving
that he provided more than one-half of the support for Ms.
Jackson’s children for 2004 and is thus ineligible to claim
dependency exemptions for them under section 151.
II. Head of Household Status
For a taxpayer to use head of household filing status,
section 2(b) requires him or her to maintain a home as the
principal place of abode for his or her unmarried son, stepson,
daughter, or stepdaughter, or any other dependent for whom the
taxpayer is entitled to a deduction under section 151. Ms.
Jackson’s children were not petitioner’s sons, stepsons,
daughters, or stepdaughters during the calendar year 2004. Nor
were they petitioner’s dependents pursuant to section 151,
because petitioner did not furnish over one-half the cost of
maintaining the household during that time. Thus, petitioner is
not entitled to use head of household filing status for 2004.
III. Earned Income Credit
Section 32 allows an eligible individual to claim an EIC
against his or her income for the taxable year. The amount of
the credit is calculated as a percentage of the taxpayer’s earned
income, adjusted each year for inflation. To be an “eligible
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Last modified: November 10, 2007