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Priscilla (35) is divorced from Bernardo (40). They are the parents of Sal (12). Sal lives with his mother who pays over half the cost of maintaining the home. The divorce decree gives Bernardo the unconditional right to claim the dependency exemption for Sal. Sal meets all of the tests for dependency for Priscilla for qualifying child. What is Priscilla's most advantageous filing status for 2018?

A. Single.
B. Head of household.
C. Married filing jointly.
D. Married filing separately.

User George Lee
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Priscilla's most advantageous filing status for 2018 is Head of Household, as she maintains the household for her qualifying child and provides the majority of the support for the home. Option B is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

Priscilla's most advantageous filing status for 2018 would be Head of Household (B). To qualify for this status, a taxpayer must be unmarried or considered unmarried at the end of the year, have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year, and have a qualifying person living in the home for more than half the year.

In Priscilla's case, her son Sal meets the requirement of a qualifying child because he lived with her more than half the year and she provided over half the cost of maintaining the home. Although Bernardo has the right to claim the dependency exemption for Sal, this does not affect Priscilla's ability to file as Head of Household provided she meets the other criteria.

Priscilla's most advantageous filing status for 2018 would be Head of household.

According to the information provided, Priscilla is divorced from Bernardo and Sal lives with her. Priscilla pays over half the cost of maintaining the home, which qualifies her for the head of household filing status.

Being a head of household would allow Priscilla to take advantage of lower tax rates and a higher standard deduction compared to filing as single or married filing separately.

User Roman Nakutnyi
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