AC256 Unit 2 Filing Status Determination Example

Reviewed by Chester Goodwin, MBA Federal Tax Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

A composite parent divorced in October 2025, a sixteen-year-old son at home and a mother renting her own apartment are tested link by link in this AC256 Unit 2 filing status determination. Purdue Global AC 256, Federal Tax, treats filing status as a chain of tests, and BS in Accounting students work each one in order before naming the status. Marital status on December 31 makes Dana unmarried. Her son passes all five qualifying child tests. Her mother passes the qualifying relative tests, with nontaxable Social Security left out of the $5,200 gross income test and 57 percent of support paid. Head of household follows through the son, while the mother's separate apartment does not supply it. The determination ends with a $23,625 standard deduction and $2,700 of credits.

CourseAC256 Federal Tax
UnitUnit 2
Paper typeFiling status determination
LengthAbout 590 words, 5 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Accounting
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for AC256 Unit 2

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Divorced in October, Head of Household by December 31: A Unit 2 Filing Status Determination, Test by Test

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

AC256: Federal Tax

Unit 2 Filing Status Determination

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The household and its figures are composite; the statutes and IRS publication cited are real, and amounts are for tax year 2025.

What this part is doingListing the household and promising the tests in order shows the grader the status is earned link by link.
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Facts

1. Dana's divorce decree became final on October 14, 2025. Dana did not remarry.

2. Her son Eli, 16 at year end, lived with her all of 2025. His father did not live in the home after March and has signed no release of the child's exemption claim.

3. Dana paid all of the rent, utilities and groceries for her home: $26,400 of the $26,400 cost of keeping it up.

4. Her mother, Ruth, 71, rents her own apartment. Ruth received $14,400 of Social Security benefits, none of it taxable at her income level, and $1,100 of bank interest. Dana paid $9,600 of Ruth's $16,800 total support for the year.

Test 1: Marital Status

Whether a taxpayer is married is judged as of December 31 (Definitions and Special Rules, 2024). Dana's divorce was final before December 31, so she is unmarried for all of 2025. Married filing jointly and married filing separately are not available.

Test 2: Eli as a Qualifying Child

1. Relationship: son. Yes.

2. Age: under 19 at year end. Yes.

3. Residency: lived with Dana more than half the year, all twelve months. Yes.

4. Support: Eli earned nothing and paid for none of his own keep. Yes.

5. Joint return: Eli files no joint return. Yes.

Eli is Dana's qualifying child (Dependent Defined, 2024). Because he is the custodial parent's child and no release was signed, his father cannot claim him.

Test 3: Ruth as a Qualifying Relative

1. Not a qualifying child of anyone: Ruth is 71 and supports herself in part. Yes.

2. Relationship: a parent qualifies without living with the taxpayer. Yes.

3. Gross income under $5,200 for 2025: Ruth's gross income for this test is $1,100 of interest, because nontaxable Social Security benefits are not counted. Yes.

4. Support: Dana provided $9,600 of $16,800, or 57 percent, more than half. Yes.

Ruth is Dana's qualifying relative and her dependent (Internal Revenue Service, 2025).

Test 4: Head of Household

Head of household requires that Dana be unmarried at year end, pay over 50 percent of a home's upkeep, and have a qualifying person live there for more than half the year (Definitions and Special Rules, 2024). Dana pays the whole cost of her home, and Eli lives there all year.

Eli alone is enough to make Dana a head of household; Ruth would also qualify her through a special rule for a dependent parent, but only if Dana covered over 50 percent of the upkeep on Ruth's apartment, which she did not.

What this part is doingThe highlighted sentence separates the qualifying person who works from the one who does not, the judgment the determination is graded on.
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Dana paid $9,600 of Ruth's support, but the rent on Ruth's apartment is $11,400 a year and Dana's payments cover groceries and medical bills, not the larger share of that apartment's upkeep. Ruth is still a dependent; she simply does not supply the head of household qualification.

Conclusion

Filing status: head of household for 2025, with a standard deduction of $23,625 rather than the $15,750 a single filer receives. Dependents: Eli, qualifying for the $2,200 child tax credit, and Ruth, qualifying for the $500 credit for other dependents. Status matters well beyond the deduction, because it also sets the bracket thresholds used in Unit 5.

What this part is doingEnding with the dollar consequences of the status shows why the determination is worth doing in order.
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References

Definitions and Special Rules, 26 U.S.C. § 2 (2024).

Dependent Defined, 26 U.S.C. § 152 (2024).

Internal Revenue Service. (2025). Dependents, standard deduction, and filing information (Publication 501). https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501

Reading the AC 256 Unit 2 instructions

The second AC256 unit gives a household and asks for the correct filing status and dependents. Work in order. First settle marital status as of December 31. Then test each possible qualifying person: for a child, relationship, age, residency, support and joint return; for a relative, the not-a-qualifying-child test, relationship or household membership, gross income and support. Use the dollar thresholds for the year the prompt names. Then test the status itself, usually head of household, including who bears most of the household's upkeep and where the qualifying person lives. State the status, the dependents and the credits they bring. Present the tests in tables or numbered lists with a short clause of evidence for each. Cite the Code and IRS Publication 501 in APA 7.

How this AC256 Unit 2 example is built

The sample sets out four facts with dates and amounts. Test 1 cites Section 7703's year-end rule and finds Dana unmarried. Test 2 runs Eli through five qualifying child tests and notes his father cannot claim him without a release. Test 3 runs Ruth through the qualifying relative tests, explaining why her nontaxable Social Security is excluded from the gross income test. Test 4 applies the head of household rules, and the highlighted sentence explains that Eli supplies the status while Ruth would need Dana to cover most of her apartment's upkeep. A paragraph shows why that test fails. The conclusion states head of household, a $23,625 standard deduction, the $2,200 child tax credit and the $500 credit for other dependents.

Where the points sit in the AC256 Unit 2 rubric

Filing status determinations are graded on taking the tests in the correct order and applying each accurately. Marital status must be settled first. Every qualifying child and qualifying relative test should be shown, not assumed. Year-specific thresholds, such as the gross income limit, must be correct. The head of household tests, especially cost of keeping up the home, are a frequent scoring point. Recognizing which person supplies the status, and why another does not, earns judgment credit. The conclusion should name the status, dependents and their credits. The remaining points cover a workpaper a reviewer can follow and Code sections cited in APA 7.

AC256 Unit 2 help from the desk

The most common filing status error is deciding the status before testing the dependents. Others treat a divorce during the year as leaving the taxpayer married. Nontaxable Social Security is counted in a parent's gross income test. The parent special rule is applied without checking who pays the parent's housing costs. Support percentages are estimated rather than computed. The conclusion names the status but not the credits that follow, even though the dependents decide most of the return's value. With your household facts written out, a writer can run each test in order and reach the status and dependents for your section.

Get an AC256 Unit 2 example written to your instructions

Household facts from the Unit 2 problem, the prompt wording and your rubric are all this needs. Each person in the household is tested in the order the Code requires, the status is chosen last, and the determination comes back within 24-48h. A first custom sample is free of charge, and every household member is invented. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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AC256 Unit 2 questions, answered

Why settle marital status before looking at dependents?

Because marital status decides which statuses are available at all. A taxpayer still married on December 31 generally cannot file as single, and head of household for a married person depends on separate considered-unmarried rules. Testing dependents first wastes work if the marital answer rules out the status they would support. Your own problem may turn on either point.

Can a parent who lives elsewhere support head of household?

Yes. A parent is the one qualifying person who need not live with the taxpayer, provided the taxpayer pays more than half the cost of keeping up the parent's home and the parent qualifies as a dependent. The example tests both conditions. Other relatives generally must share the taxpayer's home for more than half the year to count.

Where can I find a free AC256 Unit 2 sample paper?

You can read a complete AC256 Unit 2 filing status determination on this page, testing a recently divorced parent's son and mother in order and reaching head of household for 2025.

Why is the mother still a dependent in the AC256 Unit 2 sample?

Her only gross income for the test is $1,100 of interest, under the $5,200 limit for 2025, and Dana paid 57 percent of her support. She is a qualifying relative even though she lives elsewhere.

Does the son's father have any claim in the AC256 Unit 2 sample?

No. Eli lived with Dana all year, so she is the custodial parent. Without a signed release from Dana, the father cannot claim Eli or the child tax credit for him.