Identity, Filing Status and Dependents
This topic covers taxpayer identity, SSN and ITIN issues, filing status, dependency tests, qualifying child, qualifying relative, age, residency, support, and return filing requirements.
How to study for EA Part 1
Build every answer around taxpayer data, filing status, income category, deduction or credit eligibility, forms, limitations, and reporting consequences.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Identity, Filing Status and Dependents questions test whether an enrolled agent candidate can apply individual income tax rules to Form 1040 fact patterns for the tested tax year.
Exam cue: Identify taxpayer, filing status, dependency, tax year, source document, form, and whether the issue is income, deduction, credit, tax, advice, or specialized return.
Concept 2
The best answer usually identifies filing status, taxpayer data, income category, deduction or credit rule, limitation, reporting form, and penalty consequence before calculating.
Exam cue: Check thresholds, phaseouts, basis, holding period, substantiation, due dates, and whether the item is refundable, nonrefundable, taxable, excluded, or deferred.
Concept 3
Eliminate answers that ignore documentation, mix refundable and nonrefundable credits, skip basis, overlook special filing statuses, or use a prior-year rule when current-year facts control.
Exam cue: Tie the result to Form 1040 reporting, schedules, information returns, estimated tax, penalty relief, or future-year planning.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Calculating before deciding whether the taxpayer is eligible for the status, deduction, credit, exclusion, or reporting exception.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Using general tax intuition instead of the IRS outline's specific individual-return categories.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Missing forms, due dates, carryovers, international reporting, estate and gift filing, or spouse relief consequences.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Memory anchors
SSN
A Social Security number identifies a taxpayer for wage, credit, and return processing purposes.
ITIN
An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number is used by certain taxpayers who are not eligible for an SSN.
Filing Status
Filing status affects rates, standard deduction, credits, and return requirements.
Qualifying Child
A qualifying child must meet relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests.
Qualifying Relative
A qualifying relative must meet relationship or household, gross income, support, and not-qualifying-child tests.
Head of Household
Head of household generally requires being unmarried or considered unmarried and maintaining a home for a qualifying person.
MFJ
Married filing jointly combines spouses on one return with joint and several liability.
MFS
Married filing separately may limit deductions and credits but can be useful in certain liability or planning situations.
Dependent
A dependent can affect filing requirements, credits, standard deduction, and other tax benefits.
Return Requirement
Return filing requirements depend on gross income, filing status, age, dependency, and special circumstances.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
Nora used an ITIN for prior returns. In 2025, the Social Security Administration issued her an SSN. Which taxpayer identification number should Nora use on her 2025 Form 1040?
A taxpayer received an IRS Identity Protection PIN for 2025. What should the preparer do when electronically filing the taxpayer's federal return?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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