- 3 - Discussion The $2,406 deficiency arises from respondent’s disallowance of the earned income credit of the same amount. The amount of the deficiency appears to be unaffected by respondent’s changing petitioner’s filing status; consequently, we need not address that issue.1 See LTV Corp. v. Commissioner, 64 T.C. 589, 594-595 (1975); Cohen v. Commissioner, 20 B.T.A. 647, 648 (1930). Similarly, respondent’s disallowance of the dependency exemption deduction for petitioner’s son does not appear to affect directly the amount of the deficiency. As discussed below, however, the dependency issue is relevant in assessing petitioner’s entitlement to the earned income credit. For that reason, we address the dependency issue before considering petitioner’s entitlement to the earned income credit. 1. Dependency Exemption Deduction A taxpayer is allowed a dependency exemption deduction for each dependent. Sec. 151(c)(1). To qualify as the taxpayer’s dependent, an individual must, among other things, receive (or be treated as receiving) over half of his or her support from the taxpayer. Sec. 152(a). In the case of a child whose parents 1 We note, however, that to qualify as a head of household an individual must be unmarried, sec. 2(b)(1), and that an individual will be treated as not married if so treated under sec. 7703(b). The parties agree that petitioner was married, and as discussed infra, we conclude that petitioner should not be treated as not married under sec. 7703(b).Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NextLast modified: March 27, 2008