IRS Enrolled Agent Exam Part 1: Individuals

All income received in the form of money, property, and services that is not exempt from tax.

Taxpayers who are married and file a joint return are held jointly and individually responsible for any tax, interest, or penalty due.

When two or more individuals provide more than half of a person's support, any one individual who provides more than 10% of the support can claim the exemption if the other providers consent.

If a taxpayer's spouse has no gross income and cannot be claimed as a dependent, the taxpayer filing married filing separately can claim the personal exemption for the spouse.

A person must live with the taxpayer the entire year as a member of the household to meet this dependency test.

A taxpayer must provide over one-half of the individual's total support during the calendar year to claim them as a dependent.

Taxable income includes wages, salaries, tips, interest, dividends, and other income like those from rental property and business activities.

Income earned by a taxpayer's agent is considered received in the year the agent receives it.

Payments made by a third party for a divorced or separated parent are not considered support provided by that parent and are not included in the support test.

A lump sum payment received for accrued annual leave when retiring on disability is considered a salary, not a disability payment.

A taxpayer must file a return if his or her gross income is equal to or greater than the sum of his or her personal exemption amount and the standard deduction.

Taxable income includes back pay awards for unpaid wages, including unpaid life insurance and health insurance premiums.

The value of fringe benefits received from an employer is taxable and must be included as compensation unless the benefits are specifically excluded by law or the taxpayer pays fair market value for them.

An individual is considered unmarried for filing purposes if their spouse did not live in the home during the last six months of the year.

The additional standard deduction for blindness is part of the standard deduction but is not used for determining gross income filing requirements.

This filing status applies to individuals who are married but file separately on their income taxes.

A taxpayer may owe a penalty for the tax year if the total of withholding and estimated tax payments did not equal at least the smaller of 90% of the current year's tax or 100% of the previous tax year.

A taxpayer is not required to make estimated tax payments if the taxpayer had no tax liability for the previous tax year and the taxpayer was a U.S. citizen or resident for the whole year.

Social Security and Medicare taxes paid for by the employer and not withheld can be treated as additional wages when calculating taxable income.

Income that is received in a lump-sum payment for accrued annual leave when retiring on disability is considered a salary.

Employer contributions to a non-qualified plan are included in income when the contribution is made or when the employee has a nonforfeitable right to the funds, whichever occurs later.

This filing status is available for two years after the year of the spouse's death if the taxpayer was entitled to file a joint return with the spouse for the year the spouse died, did not remarry before the end of the tax year, has a qualifying child, paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and the home is the main home for the qualifying child.

A taxpayer must include in income any compensation received in exchange for services rendered. Rental value of a dwelling house furnished to an ordained minister as part of compensation is excludable from gross income.

If a taxpayer receives stock or other property that has certain restrictions that affect its value, the value is not included in income until it has been substantially vested.

A taxpayer who is a U.S. citizen or resident is required to report their total worldwide income, even if earned in another country.

Taxpayers who file as head of household must pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for themselves and a qualifying person for more than half of the tax year.

Employer contributions to a qualified retirement plan are not income to the employees when the contribution is made.

Income is considered constructively received when it is credited to your account or set apart in a way that makes it available to you, even if you haven't physically gotten it yet.