The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-01-13
YOUR FEDERAL INCOME
 TAX OUR INCOME TAX SYSTEM
YOUR FEDERAL INCOME TAX
 No. 8 SURTAX EXEMPTIONS ON

SUhlAA EAEMT 1lONS ON
 ACCOUNT OF DEPENDENTS
 In computing your income tax, you are allowed the benefit of an exemption from the surtaX. In addi- tion to the 1944 surtaX exemption of $500 for yourself and $500 for your wife or husband as explained in article No. 2 of this series, you may be entitled to the benefit of a Surtax exemption of $500 for each dependent as explained below.
 If you use your Withholding Re- ceipt as a return and let the collec- tor compute your tax for you by using the tax table, or if you use the tax table in shortform re- turn on Form 1040, the benefit of the surtax exemption to which you may be entitled for dependents is allowed automatically through the use of tax table provided by law because an allowance for the credits which you claim Con the back of the withholding Receipt or in item l on page l of Form 1040) has been worked into the table itself. If you make a long-form return on Form 1O40, you should subtract the sur tax exemption for dependents Con line {, page A from your net in- come before applying the surtax rates.
 what is a dependent" for income tax purposes?
 The law concerning dependents has been changed. Under the law for 1914 there are four tests to be met before you will be allowed a surtax exemption for dependent:
 1. The dependents gross income must be less than $500.
 2. You must have furnished more than half of his support for the year.
 3. He must be closely related to you.
 4. He must qualify under specific provisions of law concerning the citizenship and resident of depend- ents.
 First, he Cor she)-your claimed dependent must have less than . $500 gross income for the calendar year Cor, if you have fiscal year, for the calendar year in which your taxable year begins) and, if mar ried, must not make joint return with his wife. If he has a gross income of $500 or more he must file his own return, or one must be made for him, and he will then be entitled to claim surtaX exempt ion for himself. If he has no in- come but makes joint return with his wife, she will be entitled to claim the surtax exemption for her husband. In either case, you cannot claim 1t. for in general a surtax exemption for one person cannot be allowed to two different taXpay- CTS at the same time.
 If your dependent child earned wages of less than $500 during the year 1944 from which income tax was withheld, he may secure a re- fund of that tax by filing return, using a Withholding Receipt, Form W-2 (ReV.), or Form 1040. In such cases, where there is no require ment that a return be filed because of the small amount of gross in come, the real purpose of the re- turn form is to serve as con- Venient form of refund claim in stead of filing a formal claim on Form 843. Hence the fact that your dependent files a separate return as a claim for refund in these cir cumstances will not affect your right to list his name in your re- turn as your dependent for the purpose of the surtaX exemption.
 Second, you must be able to show that you furnished more than one half of his support for the calen- dar year Cor, if you have fiscal year, for the calendar year in which your taxable year begins. This test refers to the amount and not the time element. For example, if' a son, A, had paid $700 for the sup port of his aged father from Jan ilary to April 29, 1944, and his brother, B, spent $500 for the fath- CTS support from April 30 to De- cember 3l, 1944, the father having had no income, the surtax credit for the dependent father would be allowable in As final return for l944, since he paid more than one half of his fathers support for the year.
 Third, the dependent must be your relative in one of the follow ing degrees:
 descendant.
 (b) A stepchild (but not his or her descendent).
 Co A brother or sister (includ- ing a 1alf-brother or half-sister), a stepbrother, or a stepsister.
 (d) Your parent, grandparent or other ancestor.
 (e) Your stepfather or step- mother.
 (f) Your uncle. aunt, nephew or niece, but not their husbands or wives. No provision is made for your cousins.
 (g) Your "in-laws" - father-in- law. mother -in-law, brother-in-law, sisterin-law, son-in-law, or daugh- ter-in-law.
 The. above relationships apply to a legally adopted child the same