As promised (I know all of you have been sitting on the edge of your seats just waiting for this), here are a few of the questions that were on my "open book" H&R Block midterm review. There were 50 questions in all and I missed 6, so I ended up with an 88. I'm a little ticked off that I missed that many. So, here are a few selected questions from the test. Let's see how you do:

1. (True or False) A taxpayer must have a qualifying child in order to claim the earned income credit.

2. (True or False) If a child is a qualifying child for more than one taxpayer, the taxpayers must apply the tiebreaker rules to decide which may claim the child.

3. (True or False) Taxable alimony received is considered compensation for purposes of contributing to an IRA.

4. (Choose the correct answer from below) Fonda McGregor is an unmarried head of household with the following income for the year:

Wages $33,000
Bank Interest 300
Municipal Bond Interest 85
Lottery prize 200
Gift from father 3,000

Fonda contributed $1,250 to her traditional IRA, which she will deduct. Compute her AGI.

A. $32,250
B. $32,335
C. $34,950
D. $35,250

5. Which of the following items cannot be deducted as a charitable contribution?

A. Cash donation to church
B. Cost of volunteer scout master uniform
C. Cost of raffle tickets purchased from a church
D. Fair Market Value (FMV) of property donated to Red Cross

6. A single taxpayer, age 52, has already filed her 2004 tax return. She would like to make the maximum allowable contribution to a Roth IRA for 2004 by April 15, 2005. Her tax return shows the following:

Wages $25,000
Traditional IRA contribution (all deductible) $1,200
Alimony paid $600

What maximum amount may she contribute to a Roth IRA for 2004?

A. $0
B. $1,800
C. $2,300
D. $3,500

7. Which of the following items is not included when determining the total support of a qualifying relative?

A. Education expenses
B. Child care expenses
C. Life insurance premiums
D. Recreation expenses

8. Which of the following is not considered when determining the cost of maintenance of a home?

A. Insurance on the home
B. Utilities
C. Food consumed in the home
D. Mortgage principal payment

9. Daniel and Pat House, a married couple, were both 61 years old when Daniel died on January 1, 2004. Pat did not remarry. How many personal expemptions may Pat claim when filing her joint 2004 return?

A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four

10. Zoe Williams (17) is a dependent of her parents. She earned $1,475 wages from babysitting and $180 interest from her savings account. How much is the maximum she may contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA for 2004?

A. $0
B. $1,475
C. $1,655
D. $3,000

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