SEE - Special Enrollment Exam Quiz: Special Preliminary Requirements

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Special Preliminary Requirements, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for SEE - Special Enrollment Exam.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

Question 1

1. An ITIN is issued by the Social Security Administration and is valid for employment only if the individual has also been issued a work-authorized visa.
2. An ITIN may be used by an alien who is ineligible for an SSN to file a return, but it does not authorize employment or entitle the holder to claim the earned income credit. (correct answer)
3. An ITIN may be used in place of an SSN for the child tax credit if the child is a U.S. resident alien and has lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year.
4. An ITIN is issued by the Social Security Administration and may be used for federal employment tax purposes but not for filing an individual income tax return.

Question 2

1. The designee may represent the taxpayer before the IRS during an examination if the taxpayer accompanies the designee to all meetings with the IRS.
2. The designee may direct the IRS to deposit the taxpayer's refund into the designee's bank account, but only with the taxpayer's written consent.
3. The designee may discuss the processing of the return with the IRS and receive copies of notices and transcripts, but may not represent the taxpayer before the IRS or receive the refund. (correct answer)
4. The designee's authority continues until the expiration of the statute of limitations on assessment, unless the taxpayer files a revocation with the IRS.

Question 3

1. Neither child is a qualifying child because a qualifying child must have a valid SSN on or before December 31 of the tax year.
2. The son is a qualifying child because his SSN was issued before the due date of the return, but the daughter is not because an ITIN is not a valid SSN. (correct answer)
3. Both children are qualifying children if their names and identification numbers are listed on the return because the earned income credit does not require a valid SSN for a child under age 6.
4. Only the daughter is a qualifying child because an ITIN satisfies the identification requirement and the son's SSN was not issued during 2025.

Question 4

1. The ITIN remains valid because ITINs issued after 2018 do not expire and may be renewed automatically upon filing a return.
2. The ITIN remains valid because the IRS automatically renews an ITIN when a return is filed after a period of nonuse.
3. The ITIN expires only after five consecutive tax years without use, so the taxpayer may use it for 2025 without filing a renewal application.
4. The ITIN expired because it was not used for three consecutive tax years, and the taxpayer must submit a new Form W-7 with the 2025 return to renew it. (correct answer)

Question 5

1. The couple may apply for an ATIN on Form W-7A and claim the child for the child tax credit because a child placed for adoption is treated as a qualifying child without regard to the identification requirement.
2. The couple must wait until the adoption becomes final and obtain a Social Security number before the child may be claimed as a dependent on the couple's 2025 return.
3. The couple may apply for an ATIN on Form W-7A and claim the child as a dependent, but the child is not a qualifying child for the child tax credit because an ATIN is not a valid Social Security number. (correct answer)
4. The couple may apply for an ITIN for the child on Form W-7 and use that number to claim the child tax credit for a child placed for adoption.

Question 6

1. A $2,200 child tax credit for each child because at least one spouse has a valid SSN and each child has a taxpayer identification number.
2. A $500 credit for other dependents for each child because the wife does not have a valid Social Security number.
3. A $2,200 child tax credit for the daughter and no credit for the son because he does not have a valid Social Security number.
4. A $2,200 child tax credit for the daughter and a $500 credit for other dependents for the son, because the daughter has a valid SSN and the son does not. (correct answer)

Question 7

1. They do not satisfy the requirement because, on a joint return, both spouses must have valid Social Security numbers.
2. They satisfy the requirement only if the husband obtains a Social Security number before the due date of the return.
3. They do not satisfy the requirement unless both spouses and both children have Social Security numbers valid for employment.
4. They satisfy the requirement because each child has a valid Social Security number and at least one spouse has a valid Social Security number. (correct answer)

Question 8

1. The Certifying Acceptance Agent may not handle the application because ITIN applications must be filed by the taxpayer personally with original documents.
2. The Certifying Acceptance Agent may submit a notarized copy of the passport in place of the original or a certified copy.
3. The Certifying Acceptance Agent may submit Form W-7 without documentation because the agent's certification replaces the proof-of-identity requirement.
4. The Certifying Acceptance Agent may certify copies of the original passport and submit them with Form W-7 on the taxpayer's behalf. (correct answer)

Question 9

1. File Form 4868 to extend the return, then file after the SSN is issued so the child can be claimed on the original return. (correct answer)
2. File the return in March and write 'Applied For' in the SSN column; a dependent who is under age one is not required to have an SSN.
3. File Form W-7 to obtain an ITIN for the child, because the child does not yet have an SSN.
4. File the return without claiming the child, then claim the child on the following year's return once the SSN is available.

Question 10

1. Use the adoption agency's case number in the SSN field and attach the placement agreement to the return.
2. Claim the child without any identifying number because the adoption will not be final until after the return is due.
3. Apply for an adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) using Form W-7A and enter that number on the return. (correct answer)
4. Apply for an ITIN using Form W-7, because the child is not eligible for a Social Security number while the adoption is pending.

Question 11

1. She should continue to use the ITIN because she has used it on prior returns and the SSN did not exist for most of 2025.
2. She should use the SSN on the 2025 return because the ITIN is no longer valid for federal tax purposes once an SSN is assigned. (correct answer)
3. She should use the SSN for wage income reported on Form W-2 and the ITIN for all other income reported on the return.
4. She should use the ITIN for 2025 and then amend the return once the IRS has updated her account with the SSN.

Question 12

1. She may use the expired ITIN on her 2025 return because expiration affects only refund claims, not the obligation to file.
2. She must file Form SS-5 with the Social Security Administration and wait for a new ITIN to be issued.
3. She must renew the ITIN by filing Form W-7 with the renewal box checked and the required identity documents; the Form W-7 may be submitted with her 2025 return. (correct answer)
4. She must file Form 8821 with the IRS to renew the ITIN before the return will be accepted.