Question: Our daughter has decided to do a “gap year” after graduating from high school in the summer. We made them dependent on our 2019 tax return as we clearly provided more than half of their support. The pandemic ended the “gap year”. She returned home in May. She is currently enrolled in a local community college and has a part-time job. When preparing our tax return for 2020, we are looking for assistance in determining what will or will not count as assistance.

A. Ken is known to develop acronyms as part of some Tax Talk responses. Since we were or are both employed at Notre Dame, which is sponsored by the CSC regulation, he refers to this as CSC (i.e. Components of the Support Pillar). And immediately another acronym – CHEFS – pops up when trying to reduce the various elements of support.

C is for clothing, but also includes laundry, dry cleaning, and changes to clothing.

H refers to health care, which includes some of the obvious aspects like medical treatment and health insurance, but also vitamins and other costs that maintain or improve physical and / or mental wellbeing.

Another H would be Haulin (also known as Transport), which covers the cost of the vehicle and, in some cases, the tariffs paid for the necessary transportation.

E covers educational expenses such as tuition, fees, books and, for a child who is a student who does not live at home, room and board.

F includes food, but this category also includes fees that allow your child to use a swimming pool, golf course, or other recreational area. That brings another F into play, namely fun (or relaxation), which is also part of the support calculation. The recovery list includes theater tickets, vacation expenses, and other expenses, e.g. B. Membership in a book club to help your loved one enjoy life.

S is for protection. While it’s the last in the CHEFS acronym, it’s definitely not the last. This category contains many items, including the rental or rental value of a taxpayer’s home, plus utilities, cables, telephone, repairs, and personal property insurance premiums.

The more than 50% support test has always been part of the income tax landscape. Its importance has recently declined since the Dependent Exemption was put on hold from 2018 to 2025 by the Tax Reduction and Employment Act. Nonetheless, the support test plays an important role for taxpayers looking to claim several key federal tax breaks, including the Child Loan, Child and Dependent Care Loan, and Earned Income Credit. And let’s not overlook the Indiana Form IT-40, which allows for a $ 1,000 exemption (per Appendix 3) for each qualified child while using the “Half Their Own Assistance For The Year” test.

Ken Milani is Professor of Accounting at Notre Dame University, where he was Faculty Coordinator for the Notre Dame Tax Assistance Program. Contact him at [email protected]. Joe Zavisca is a professional tax specialist in private practice. Previously, he was the manager of the International Tax Assistance Program at Notre Dame. You can contact him at [email protected] or visit his website at joezavisca1040.com. Send an email to submit a question.