Problem
Steve died in 2019 and is survived by his wife, Marsha, and their 18-year-old daughter, Amanda (birthday of December 1, 2001). Marsha is the executix of Steve's estate and maintains a household in which she and Amanda live. Marsha furnishes all of their support (for her and Amanda) and Amanda saves her earnings. Amanda's earnings and student status are as follows:
|
Year
|
Earnings
|
Student Status
|
|
2019
|
$4,500
|
Full-time (for spring and summer semesters)
|
|
2020
|
$9,000
|
Not enrolled in any educational institution for entire year
|
|
2021
|
$5,000
|
Full-time (for summer and fall semesters)
|
|
2022
|
$3,500
|
Not enrolled in any educational institution for the entire year
|
Now assume that Marsha claims her cousin, Amber, as her dependent in 2023 (Amanda is no longer her dependent). Would Marsha be legally permitted to claim the dependency under any circumstance? Assuming Marsha could claim her as a dependent, how would this impact Marsha's filing status for 2023?