Question

Jim and Kay Ross contributed to the support of their two children, Dale and Kim, and Jim's widowed parent, Grant. During the year, Dale, a 19-year-old full-time college student, earned $5,500 as a babysitter. Kim, a 23-year-old bank teller, earned $12,000. Grant received $5,000 in dividend income and $4,000 in nontaxable Social Security benefits (dividends, but not social security benefits, will be included in Grant's gross income). Kim and Grant currently reside with Jim and Kay. Dale's main place of residence is with Jim and Kay, and he is currently on a temporary absence to attend school. How many dependents can Jim and Kay claim on their joint income tax return?

Answer 1

Answer: 1 dependent

Step-by-step explanation:

Only Dale can be claimed as a dependent as he is a qualifying child who is under 24 and is a full time student.

Kim cannot be claimed as a dependent as Kim is above the age of 19. To be a qualifying child for dependency, Kim would have to be less than 19 or less than 24 were Kim a full time student.

Grant also does not qualify as a dependent under the Qualifying relative designation as Grant's gross income of $5,000 exceeds the limit of $4,200 that Grant would have to be making less than in 2019 to be claimed as a qualifying relative.