George is a new client. He is 56 years old. His spouse passed away during 2018. His filing status for 2018 was married filing jointly. George has not remarried. He maintains a household for himself and his dependent child. His home is 112 Maple Avenue. He purchased the home in 2017 and took out a mortgage in the amount of $500,000. George’s 2019 AGI is $265,000. He provides you with a draft tax 2019 return he prepared for your review. The draft took into account the following expenditures incurred in 2019.
 Medical expenses $27,000
 Interest on home mortgage $25,500
 State income tax $14,500
 State sales tax $4,500
 Real estate tax $1,600
 Charitable contribution $6,500
1. What is George’s filing status for 2019?
(a) Single
(b) Married Filing Jointly
(c) Head of Household
(d) Surviving Spouse/Qualifying Widower
(e) Abandoned Spouse

2. Which of the following statements is most accurate (based on the initial information provided) for the 2019 tax return?
(a) The amount George can deduct via a standard deduction will be greater than the amount he can deduct by itemizing his deductions on Scheduled A.
(b) The amount George can deduct via a standard deduction will be less than the amount he can deduct by itemizing his deductions on Scheduled A.
(c) George cannot itemize his deductions in 2019 because he and his spouse took a standard deduction in 2018.
(d) None of the above.

3. After reviewing the draft 2019 tax return you learn that George moved out of the Maple Avenue home shortly after his spouse died. George (and his dependent child) lived at the home for only 15 days during 2019. The Maple Avenue residence was rented for 180 days during 2019. The rental income was $10,000. The property was vacant for the remainder of 2019. Which of the following statement are most accurate:
(a) The amount George can deduct via a standard deduction will be greater than the amount he can deduct by itemizing his deductions on Scheduled A.
(b) The amount George can deduct via a standard deduction will be less than the amount he can deduct by itemizing his deductions on Scheduled A.
(c) George cannot itemize his deductions in 2019 because he and his spouse took a standard deduction in 2018.
(d) None of the above

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 The answer is D surviving spousequalifying widower Be entitled to file a joint return for the year ... View the full answer