Head of Household Filing Status

regarding “considered unmarried” for IRS purposes, I have read that when separated you can live on different floors with separate amenities for the convenience of the kids (them not having to shuttle between homes. I meet all of the 5 criteria described, since I have one dependent child that only I will claim an exemption for. In this case is it possible for me to file as head of household while their dad files as separate/unmarried. Also can I take a standard deduction if he itemizes his return. pls clarify

Can I file head of the household if my fiance lived with me for the more than half the year and I covered more than 50% of the household fiances? would my fiance be considered as a qualifying person for my head of the household status?

Jeanette – did you ever find that answer out if you can claim hoh when fiance lives with you even full year – but you pay 50% of 100% of household costs and bills? Pls let me know if you found out! thanks

A fiance is not a qualifying person for head of household purposes. However, once you are married, you and your new spouse will be able to file a joint return, which generally offers better tax breaks than the head of household status.

My husband has been a stay at home dad since the end of April. what would be best for us to claim? Should I claim head of household since it’s just my income? Can I claim him at the end of the year along with our 2 kids?

Tammy, the best filing status for you is married filing jointly. That provides you with a bigger standard deduction and more personal exemptions than if you claimed head of household. Besides, the head of household status is not available to married couples, unless you are separated.

can I file head of household if my domestic partner (unmarried) was out of work for most of the year?

Greg, you could potentially file for head of household, but you will need a ‘qualifying person.’ I spell out all the various types of relationships that would qualify in my article on the head of household filing status. Domestic partners are not qualifying persons. However if you have another dependent, that other dependent could qualify you for HOH. Otherwise, you might be able to file as single and claim your partner as a dependent. But your partner would have to make less than $3,500 (the personal exemption amount for 2008) in order to make this doable.

So being married automatically disqualifies you to be HOH? If I do not want my refund taken along with my husband’s for withholding then my only choice is to file separately and lose credits for my 2 daughters?

Melissa, it’s a bit unclear what your situation is. But generally speaking, yes, being married precludes you for qualifying for HOH. The exception is for estranged spouses who have lived apart for at least the last six months of last year.

It sounds to me like your husband owes some sort of debt such as back taxes or child support or student loans, and that his tax refunds will be confiscated to pay off his other debts. If that’s the case, there are two possible solutions for you. (1) you can file separately. This will likely increase your taxes significantly as separate filers are not eligible for a wide range of tax deductions and tax credits. Or (2) you can file jointly and add the Injured Spouse form 8379. By using the form, you’ll let the IRS know to confiscate only his portion of the tax refund to pay off his other debts and to issue your refund to you.

I was divorced in nov but moved out of the house in august. So I maintained a home solely for 5 months. During this time my son lived with me and I will be claiming him as my dependant per my divorce decree. My question is about the first 7 months of the year. Since i was married during this time and marrital assets are joint can i safely say that I was 50% responsible for household expenses for 7 months and 100% for 5 months and qualify for the HOH status? By the way my ex will claim our daughter (who lives with him) so would we both get to file as head of household?

I have a question.If i own my home, and my daughter,her boyfriend and their son live in my house,can he and i both claim head of household? what are the legal guidelines? anyone know?

Not a comment but a question. I am divorced and single. My ex-wife has custody of our daughter and she claims her as a dependent. I pay alimony and have an extra room in my house for my daughter’s bi-weekly visits. Can I file as ‘Head Of Househlod’ and not claim my daughter as dependent?

What if neither parent has custody of the kids and they spend more time with me, their father but they sleep at their mother’s house because I work third shift?

I was divorced October 31 2008. We were to file taxes together this yr. My ex filed without me and he took all the credit for the home we owed. I have no children who live with me. Being that we lived apart (my ex and I most of 2008 and I did pay 50 percent of our expenses. Can I still claim head of household?

I got married at the end of June in 2008. My husband and I have a prenup agreement. My assets and ebt are mine and vice versa. I own the house in which we live and he is retired. We both have disabled adult children which we are the sole support of. Since we were single the first six months of the year can we still file as head of household and claim our chilren? We donot pool our assets, he still own his own home and I have a residence that I am selling and own the current house we live in. How should we file?

So, here’s one that I can’t figure out… My boyfriend and I own a house and have a daughter together. He claims the house and I claim her for tax purposes since we file separately. He makes more money, and therefore pays more for keeping the house up. Does he file HOH even though he doesn’t claim her as a dependant??

Sara, your boyfriend would need to claim his daughter as a dependent if he wants to file as head of household.

Lynn, since you are now divorced, the both of you can file as Head of Household, provided that the dependent lived with you for more than half the year and you each provided more than half the support for each dependent, respectively. From what you described, it sounds likely that you’ll both qualify for HOH.

Nicki, here’s a link to the basic guidelines for Head of Household status. There’s more details in Publication 501 from the IRS web site. Generally speaking, you need to be able to claim a closely-related dependent on your tax return, and that dependent must live with you for more than half the year and you must provide more than half their support. There can be at most one HOH filer per household. Whether anyone in your household qualifies for HOH depends whether they can claim dependents and how much of the household support they provided.

I have been seperated for over a year. It wasn’t done with a lawyer. He moved out into an apartment and I stayed at the home I purchased before we got married. I paid for all the household necessities(mortgage,daycare,dependants,etc.). Can I file head of household without penalty or do I have to file seperate? He can’t itemize because he doesn’t have much to use a 1040A form.

Can two adults claim HOH if you both have agreed to 50/50% split of time and expenses?

We both want to claim HOH but are not officially divorced but essentially pass all tests for being legally separated.

Thanks,
Adam

I am planning to get married after June this year. I still own my own home and have a dependent that lived with me. Next year, can I file head of household for 2009?

I have a question…my boyfriend is legally separated with divorce pending. His ex lives in the marital residence and he is renting a house. If his children live a little less than 50% of time time with him but he pays ALL expenses at the marital home as well as giving her a food/gas allowance until the court decides support agreement, is he able to claim them on taxes or does she?

If my husband and I were married overseas in Japan but both of us are citizens. Now can my husband claim head of household are we able to legally count our marriage? We have 2 common children together and he was advised by his tax preparer that he can claim HOH because I am disabled and tecniquillt we aren’t legally married in this country.

I’ve been in working visa for 2 years, my husband can’t work and just take care of our son at home. I am paying everything ,but I know I am not qualified to file for head of household. What is the best should I file for? thank you