High School

Susie, John, Luke, and Will provide support for their 80-year-old mother, Joyce. Joyce lives by herself in an apartment in Miami, Florida, and earned $4,000 this year working at her church. She provides 10% of her own support.

Susie provides 30% of Joyce’s support, John provides 5%, Luke provides 15%, and Will provides 40%.

Under a multiple support agreement, who may claim Joyce as a dependent?

A. Susie, Luke, John, and Will
B. Susie, Luke, and Will
C. Susie and Will
D. Will

Answer :

To determine who among Susie, John, Luke, and Will can claim Joyce as a dependent under a multiple support agreement, we need to understand how these arrangements work under tax law.

  1. Understanding Multiple Support Agreements

    • A multiple support agreement allows multiple individuals who collectively provide more than half of a person's support to take turns claiming that person as a dependent.
    • To qualify for a multiple support agreement, one or more taxpayers together must provide more than 50% of the individual's total support.
    • The individual claiming the dependent must provide at least 10% of the support.
  2. Calculate the Percentage of Support Provided by Each Individual

    • Joyce provides 10% of her own support.
    • Susie provides 30% of Joyce’s support.
    • John provides 5% of Joyce’s support.
    • Luke provides 15% of Joyce’s support.
    • Will provides 40% of Joyce’s support.
  3. Total Support Provided by Joyce’s Children
    [tex]\text{Total support provided by Susie, John, Luke, and Will} = 30\% + 5\% + 15\% + 40\% = 90\%[/tex]

    • Since Joyce's children together provide 90% of the support, they collectively provide more than 50% of her support, meeting one condition for the multiple support agreement.
  4. Determining Eligibility to Claim Joyce

    • Under a multiple support agreement, only those providing at least 10% of support can claim the dependent.
    • Susie (30%), Luke (15%), and Will (40%) each provide at least 10%, thus are eligible.
    • John provides only 5%, which is less than 10%, making him ineligible to claim Joyce.

Therefore, under a multiple support agreement, Susie, Luke, and Will can choose who may claim Joyce as a dependent.

Chosen Option: B. Susie, Luke, and Will