Free IRS Enrolled Agent SEE Part 1 (Individuals) Advising the Individual Taxpayer Practice Questions
Advising the Individual Taxpayer covers retirement planning and IRA strategy, education savings (529 / Coverdell), HSAs, withholding and estimated tax safe harbors, divorce and family situations, marriage and filing-status decisions, and identifying when to file an amended return.
Sample Questions
Question 1
Easy
For a divorce or separation instrument executed after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are treated as:
Solution
TCJA §11051 repealed the deduction for alimony paid (former IRC §215) and the inclusion of alimony received (former IRC §71) for any divorce or separation instrument executed after , or executed on or before that date and modified after if the modification expressly applies the new rule. Pub 504.
Question 2
Medium
Phyllis and her husband are deciding whether to file married filing jointly or married filing separately for 2025. Which of the following statements about MFS is INCORRECT?
Solution
Joint and several liability under IRC §6013(d)(3) attaches to a joint return, not to MFS returns. On MFS returns each spouse is liable only for the tax shown on his or her own separate return. The other listed consequences (loss of EITC absent the separated-spouse exception, loss of dependent-care credit, and the matching itemize/standard rule under §63(c)(6)(A)) are correct disadvantages of MFS. See Pub 504.
Question 3
Hard
Equitable relief from joint and several liability under IRC §6015(f) is available to a requesting spouse only when which of the following conditions is satisfied?
Solution
IRC §6015(f) and Treas. Reg. §1.6015-4 condition equitable relief on two threshold gates: relief must be unavailable under §6015(b) (traditional innocent spouse) and §6015(c) (separation of liability), and, considering all facts and circumstances, it must be inequitable to hold the requesting spouse liable. Rev. Proc. 2013-34 enumerates the threshold conditions and weighting factors.