1. Jerry, age 23, a full-time student and not disabled, lives with William and Sheila Carson. Jerry is William's older brother. Jerry is single, a U.S. citizen, and does not provide more than one-half of his own support. William and Sheila are both 21 and file a joint return. Can William and Sheila claim a dependency exemption for Jerry as a qualifying child? Required: Go to the IRS website (www.irs.gov) and review Publication 501.

2. Jason and Mary Wells, friends of yours, were married on December 30, 2016. They know you are studying taxes and have sent you an e-mail with a question concerning their filing status. Jason and Mary would each like to file single for tax year 2016. Jason has prepared their taxes both as single and married filing jointly, and he has realized that the couple will get a larger combined refund if they each file single. Jason argues "that it's not as if we were married for very long in 2016."

Required: What is your response to Jason and Mary's inquiry.