Here is a table I made describing how to determine if somebody qualifies as a child or relative for exemption purposes on the 1040. I made this last fall for the tax course I took as part of my master’s degree. The TA liked it so much that he included it as part of the next lecture as review. That made me feel really good.
In all cases, the person must be a citizen or resident of the United States, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
This information is testable on the current CPA exam. I am not sure if this is changing with the Trump tax law changes. If it is, I will post an update once I know what those details are.
Published by Jennifer
My name is Jennifer Johnson and I’ve worked in the accounting industry since 1992, mostly as a freelance bookkeeper and QuickBooks consultant for small, privately-held firms. I had clients across the country and was certified in QuickBooks from about 2004 to 2011. I wrote a number of ebooks about QuickBooks during that time. In 2011 I accepted a full-time staff position with my largest client, and sold my bookkeeping practice. I finished my undergraduate degree in accounting in 2016, and then my masters in accountancy in 2018. I now teach accounting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, one of the top accountancy programs in the United States, if not the world. AMDG
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