Even if you are still legally married, you may be considered unmarried for the purposes of the Head of Household filing status if all of the following statements are true:. You are still considered to have lived with your spouse in your home if you only lived apart due to temporary absences. A temporary absence includes living away from the home for the purposes of school, business, military service, medical treatment, or vacation, with the expectation of returning to the home after the absence.
You can be considered unmarried single for the purpose of filing as Head of Household if your spouse was a nonresident alien anytime during the year and you do not choose to treat them as a resident alien for tax purposes. But you are considered married if you choose to treat your spouse as a resident alien on your tax return.
Your spouse cannot be a qualifying person, so you must have another qualifying person to be eligible to file as a Head of Household. To figure out if you paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, you must first determine the total cost. All of the following expenses should be included when determining the total cost of keeping up a home:.
Once you figure the total cost, simply halve the number and compare the result to your actual expenses to see if you paid more. You are considered to have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home if you paid a greater portion of the total cost than anybody else did, even if you actually paid less than half of the total cost. If you paid any costs of keeping up your home with funds received from TANF or other public assistance programs, you may not include those amounts in the expenses you paid.
However, you must still count these expenses toward the total cost of keeping up a home. A Qualifying Person is someone who qualifies you to file as Head of Household if they lived with you in your home for more than half the year, not counting temporary absences.
Your parent, however, does not have to live with you to be a Qualifying Person. Many dependents will count as a Qualifying Person for Head of Household, but some dependents will not.
And a Qualifying Person does not necessarily have to be a dependent. So who does count as a Qualifying Person? Any of the following can be a Qualifying Person:. Child Who Is a Qualifying Person, example 1: Your single daughter, who was 18 years old on December 31, lived with you all year and had no income, so she did not provide more than half of her own support.
She was a full-time student and lived on campus while attending school, so she is considered to have lived with you. She paid some of her own expenses, but did not pay more than half of her own support. She is your Qualifying Child and single, so she is a Qualifying Person. She is too old to be your Qualifying Child, and she made too much money to be your Qualifying Relative, so you cannot claim her as a dependent. Therefore, she is not a Qualifying Person for Head of Household. Girlfriend or Boyfriend : Your girlfriend lived with you all year and had no income.
See Temporary absences , earlier, under Head of Household. There are also exceptions, described later, for a child who was born or died during the year and for a kidnapped child.
You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year. John's wife died in John hasn't remarried. He has continued during and to keep up a home for himself and his child who lives with him and who he can claim as a dependent. For , he was entitled to file a joint return for himself and his deceased wife. For and , he can file as a qualifying widower.
After , he can file as head of household if he qualifies. You may be eligible to file as a qualifying widow er if the child who qualifies you for this filing status is born or dies during the year. You must have provided more than half of the cost of keeping up a home that was the child's main home during the entire part of the year he or she was alive.
You may be eligible to file as a qualifying widow er even if the child who qualifies you for this filing status has been kidnapped. You can claim qualifying widow er filing status if all the following statements are true. You would have qualified for qualifying widow er filing status if the child had not been kidnapped.
As mentioned earlier, this filing status is available for only 2 years following the year your spouse died. All the requirements for claiming a dependent are summarized in Table 5. You can't claim any dependents if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. You can't claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid.
You can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U. You can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying child or qualifying relative. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them. The child must be a under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly , b under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly , or c any age if permanently and totally disabled.
The child must not be filing a joint return for the year unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid. The person either a must be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don't have to live with you , or b must live with you all year as a member of your household 2 and your relationship must not violate local law.
You may be entitled to a child tax credit for each qualifying child who was under age 17 at the end of the year if you claimed that child as a dependent. For more information, see the Instructions for Forms and SR. You may be entitled to a credit for other dependents for each qualifying child who does not qualify you for the child tax credit and for each qualifying relative. Even if you have a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you can claim that person as a dependent only if these three tests are met.
Dependent taxpayer test. Joint return test. Citizen or resident test. If you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer, you can't claim anyone else as a dependent. Even if you have a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you can't claim that person as a dependent. If you are filing a joint return and your spouse can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer, you and your spouse can't claim any dependents on your joint return.
You can claim a person as a dependent who files a joint return if that person and his or her spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. You supported your year-old daughter, and she lived with you all year while her husband was in the Armed Forces.
The couple files a joint return. You can't claim your daughter as a dependent. Example 2—child files joint return only as claim for refund of withheld tax. They lived with you all year. Neither is required to file a tax return.
They don't have a child. Taxes were taken out of their pay so they file a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes. The exception to the joint return test applies, so you aren't disqualified from claiming each of them as a dependent just because they file a joint return.
You can claim each of them as dependents if all the other tests to do so are met. Example 3—child files joint return to claim American opportunity credit. The facts are the same as in Example 2 except no taxes were taken out of your son's pay or his wife's pay. Because claiming the American opportunity credit is their reason for filing the return, they aren't filing it only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. The exception to the joint return test doesn't apply, so you can't claim either of them as a dependent.
You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U. However, there is an exception for certain adopted children, as explained next. This exception also applies if the child was lawfully placed with you for legal adoption and the child lived with you for the rest of the year after placement. Children usually are citizens or residents of the country of their parents. If you were a U. Foreign students brought to this country under a qualified international education exchange program and placed in American homes for a temporary period generally aren't U.
You can't claim them as dependents. However, if you provided a home for a foreign student, you may be able to take a charitable contribution deduction. Relationship ,. Age ,. Residency ,. Support , and. Joint return. If a child meets the five tests to be the qualifying child of more than one person, there are rules you must use to determine which person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child. Your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant for example, your grandchild of any of them; or.
Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant for example, your niece or nephew of any of them. An adopted child is always treated as your own child. The term "adopted child" includes a child who was lawfully placed with you for legal adoption. A foster child is an individual who is placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree, or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction.
A student under age 24 at the end of the year and younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly , or. Your son turned 19 on December Unless he was permanently and totally disabled or a student, he doesn't meet the age test because, at the end of the year, he wasn't under age To be your qualifying child, a child who isn't permanently and totally disabled must be younger than you. However, if you are married filing jointly, the child must be younger than you or your spouse but doesn't have to be younger than both of you.
Example 1—child not younger than you or your spouse. Your year-old brother, who is a student and unmarried, lives with you and your spouse, who provide more than half of his support. He isn't disabled. Both you and your spouse are 21 years old, and you file a joint return. Your brother isn't your qualifying child because he isn't younger than you or your spouse. Example 2—child younger than your spouse but not younger than you.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your spouse is 25 years old. Because your brother is younger than your spouse and you and your spouse are filing a joint return, your brother is your qualifying child, even though he isn't younger than you.
To qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:. A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school; or. A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in 1 , or by a state, county, or local government agency. A full-time student is a student who is enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers to be full-time attendance.
A school can be an elementary school, junior or senior high school, college, university, or technical, trade, or mechanical school. However, an on-the-job training course, correspondence school, or school offering courses only through the Internet doesn't count as a school.
Students who work on "co-op" jobs in private industry as a part of a school's regular course of classroom and practical training are considered full-time students. Your child is permanently and totally disabled if both of the following apply. He or she can't engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition.
A doctor determines the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death. To meet this test, your child must have lived with you for more than half the year. There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents.
Your child is considered to have lived with you during periods of time when one of you, or both, are temporarily absent due to special circumstances, such as:. A child who was born or died during the year is treated as having lived with you more than half the year if your home was the child's home more than half the time he or she was alive during the year. The same is true if the child lived with you more than half the year except for any required hospital stay following birth. You may be able to claim as a dependent a child born alive during the year, even if the child lived only for a moment.
State or local law must treat the child as having been born alive. There must be proof of a live birth shown by an official document, such as a birth certificate. The child must be your qualifying child or qualifying relative, and all the other tests to claim the child as a dependent must be met. You can treat your child as meeting the residency test even if the child has been kidnapped, but the following statements must be true. In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child lived with you for more than half of the part of the year before the date of the kidnapping.
Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart. In most cases, because of the residency test, a child of divorced or separated parents is the qualifying child of the custodial parent. However, the child will be treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are true. Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,. Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married.
The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year. The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she won't claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return.
If the decree or agreement went into effect after and before , see Post and pre divorce decree or separation agreement , later. If the decree or agreement went into effect after , see Post divorce decree or separation agreement , later. If statements 1 through 4 are all true, only the noncustodial parent can:. Claim the child as a qualifying child for the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents. The custodial parent or another taxpayer, if eligible, can claim the child for the earned income credit.
The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the noncustodial parent. If the parents divorced or separated during the year and the child lived with both parents before the separation, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the rest of the year. A child is treated as living with a parent for a night if the child sleeps:. In the company of the parent, when the child doesn't sleep at a parent's home for example, the parent and child are on vacation together.
If the child lived with each parent for an equal number of nights during the year, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income AGI. The night of December 31 is treated as part of the year in which it begins.
For example, the night of December 31, , is treated as part of If a child is emancipated under state law, the child is treated as not living with either parent.
See Examples 5 and 6. If a child wasn't with either parent on a particular night because, for example, the child was staying at a friend's house , the child is treated as living with the parent with whom the child normally would have lived for that night, except for the absence.
But if it can't be determined with which parent the child normally would have lived or if the child would not have lived with either parent that night, the child is treated as not living with either parent that night. If, due to a parent's nighttime work schedule, a child lives for a greater number of days, but not nights, with the parent who works at night, that parent is treated as the custodial parent.
On a school day, the child is treated as living at the primary residence registered with the school. Example 1—child lived with one parent for a greater number of nights. In , your child lived with you nights and with the other parent nights. You are the custodial parent. In , your daughter lives with each parent for alternate weeks.
In the summer, she spends 6 weeks at summer camp. During the time she is at camp, she is treated as living with you for 3 weeks and with her other parent, your ex-spouse, for 3 weeks because this is how long she would have lived with each parent if she had not attended summer camp. Your son lived with you nights during the year and lived the same number of nights with his other parent, your ex-spouse. You are treated as your son's custodial parent because you have the higher AGI.
Your son normally lives with you during the week and with his other parent, your ex-spouse, every other weekend. You become ill and are hospitalized.
The other parent lives in your home with your son for 10 consecutive days while you are in the hospital. Your son is treated as living with you during this day period because he was living in your home. When your son turned age 18 in May , he became emancipated under the law of the state where he lives.
As a result, he isn't considered in the custody of his parents for more than half of the year. The special rule for children of divorced or separated parents doesn't apply. Your daughter lives with you from January 1, , until May 31, , and lives with her other parent, your ex-spouse, from June 1, , through the end of the year.
She turns 18 and is emancipated under state law on August 1, Because she is treated as not living with either parent beginning on August 1, she is treated as living with you the greater number of nights in The custodial parent must use either Form or a similar statement containing the same information required by the form to make the written declaration to release a claim to an exemption for a child to the noncustodial parent.
Although the exemption amount is zero for tax year , this release allows the noncustodial parent to claim the child tax credit, additional child tax credit, and credit for other dependents, if applicable, for the child. The noncustodial parent must attach a copy of the form or statement to his or her tax return.
The release can be for 1 year, for a number of specified years for example, alternate years , or for all future years, as specified in the declaration. Post and pre divorce decree or separation agreement. If the divorce decree or separation agreement went into effect after and before , the noncustodial parent may be able to attach certain pages from the decree or agreement instead of Form The decree or agreement must state all three of the following.
The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent without regard to any condition, such as payment of support. The custodial parent won't claim the child as a dependent for the year.
The years for which the noncustodial parent, rather than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a dependent. The noncustodial parent must attach all of the following pages of the decree or agreement to his or her tax return.
The cover page write the other parent's social security number on this page. The pages that include all of the information identified in items 1 through 3 above. The signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the agreement. The noncustodial parent can't attach pages from the decree or agreement instead of Form if the decree or agreement went into effect after The custodial parent must sign either Form or a similar statement whose only purpose is to release the custodial parent's claim to an exemption, and the noncustodial parent must attach a copy to his or her return.
The form or statement must release the custodial parent's claim to the child without any conditions. For example, the release must not depend on the noncustodial parent paying support. The noncustodial parent must attach the required information even if it was filed with a return in an earlier year.
The custodial parent can revoke a release of claim to an exemption. For the revocation to be effective for , the custodial parent must have given or made reasonable efforts to give written notice of the revocation to the noncustodial parent in or earlier.
The custodial parent can use Part III of Form for this purpose and must attach a copy of the revocation to his or her return for each tax year he or she claims the child as a dependent as a result of the revocation. If you remarry, the support provided by your new spouse is treated as provided by you. This rule for divorced or separated parents also applies to parents who never married and lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year.
To meet this test, the child can't have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year. This test is different from the support test to be a qualifying relative, which is described later. If you aren't sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support, you may find Worksheet 2 helpful. He provided more than half of his own support for the year. He isn't your qualifying child. Payments you receive for the support of a foster child from a child placement agency are considered support provided by the agency.
Similarly, payments you receive for the support of a foster child from a state or county are considered support provided by the state or county. If you aren't in the trade or business of providing foster care and your unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses in caring for a foster child were mainly to benefit an organization qualified to receive deductible charitable contributions, the expenses are deductible as charitable contributions but aren't considered support you provided.
For more information about the deduction for charitable contributions, see Pub. If your unreimbursed expenses aren't deductible as charitable contributions, they may qualify as support you provided. If you are in the trade or business of providing foster care, your unreimbursed expenses aren't considered support provided by you. Lauren, a foster child, lived with Mr.
Smith for the last 3 months of the year. The Smiths cared for Lauren because they wanted to adopt her although she had not been placed with them for adoption. They didn't care for her as a trade or business or to benefit the agency that placed her in their home. The Smiths' unreimbursed expenses aren't deductible as charitable contributions but are considered support they provided for Lauren.
See Support provided by the state welfare, food benefits, housing, etc. Your foster child didn't provide more than half of her own support for the year. A scholarship received by a child who is a student isn't taken into account in determining whether the child provided more than half of his or her own support.
Under proposed Treasury regulations, if you received Temporary Assistance to Needy Families TANF payments or other similar payments and used the payment to support another person, those payments are considered support you provided for that person, rather than support provided by the government or other third party. An exception to the joint return test applies if your child and his or her spouse file a joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
Because your daughter and her husband file a joint return, she isn't your qualifying child. Taxes were taken out of their pay, so they file a joint return only to get a refund of the withheld taxes. The exception to the joint return test applies, so your son may be your qualifying child if all the other tests are met. The exception to the joint return test doesn't apply, so your son isn't your qualifying child.
If your qualifying child isn't a qualifying child of anyone else, this topic doesn't apply to you and you don't need to read about it. This is also true if your qualifying child isn't a qualifying child of anyone else except your spouse with whom you plan to file a joint return. If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart , described earlier, see Applying the tiebreaker rules to divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart , later.
Sometimes, a child meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests to be a qualifying child of more than one person. Although the child is a qualifying child of each of these persons, generally only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child to take all of the following tax benefits provided the person is eligible for each benefit.
To determine which person can treat the child as a qualifying child to claim these five tax benefits, the following tiebreaker rules apply. If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parent.
If the parents file a joint return together and can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parents. If the parents don't file a joint return together but both parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year.
If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income AGI for the year. If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the year.
If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the year, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child. Subject to these tiebreaker rules, you and the other person may be able to choose which of you claims the child as a qualifying child.
You may be able to qualify for the earned income credit under the rules for taxpayers without a qualifying child if you have a qualifying child for the earned income credit who is claimed as a qualifying child by another taxpayer. You and your 3-year-old daughter Jane lived with your mother all year.
Jane's father didn't live with you or your daughter. You haven't signed Form or a similar statement. Jane is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only one of you can claim her. Jane isn't a qualifying child of anyone else, including her father.
You agree to let your mother claim Jane. This means your mother can claim Jane as a qualifying child for all of the five tax benefits listed earlier, if she qualifies for each of those benefits and if you don't claim Jane as a qualifying child for any of those tax benefits. Because your mother's AGI isn't higher than yours, she can't claim Jane. Only you can claim Jane. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you and your mother both claim Jane as a qualifying child.
In this case, you, as the child's parent, will be the only one allowed to claim Jane as a qualifying child. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the five tax benefits listed earlier based on Jane. However, your mother may qualify for the earned income credit as a taxpayer without a qualifying child. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you also have two other young children who are qualifying children of both you and your mother.
Only one of you can claim each child. However, if your mother's AGI is higher than yours, you can allow your mother to claim one or more of the children. For example, if you claim one child, your mother can claim the other two.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you are only 18 years old and didn't provide more than half of your own support for the year. This means you are your mother's qualifying child.
If she can claim you as a dependent, then you can't claim your daughter as a dependent because of the Dependent Taxpayer Test , explained earlier. You, your husband, and your year-old son lived together until August 1, , when your husband moved out of the household. In August and September, your son lived with you. For the rest of the year, your son lived with your husband, the boy's father. Your son is a qualifying child of both you and your husband because your son lived with each of you for more than half the year and because he met the relationship, age, support, and joint return tests for both of you.
At the end of the year, you and your husband still weren't divorced, legally separated, or separated under a written separation agreement, so the rule for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart doesn't apply. You and your husband will file separate returns.
Your husband agrees to let you treat your son as a qualifying child. This means, if your husband doesn't claim your son as a qualifying child, you can claim your son as a qualifying child for the child tax credit and the exclusion for dependent care benefits assuming you otherwise qualify for both tax benefits. However, you can't claim head of household filing status because you and your husband didn't live apart for the last 6 months of the year. As a result, your filing status is married filing separately, so you can't claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care expenses.
The facts are the same as in Example 6 except you and your husband both claim your son as a qualifying child. In this case, only your husband will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because, during , the boy lived with him longer than with you. If you claimed the child tax credit for your son, the IRS will disallow your claim to the child tax credit. If you don't have another qualifying child or dependent, the IRS will also disallow your claim to the exclusion for dependent care benefits.
In addition, because you and your husband didn't live apart for the last 6 months of the year, your husband can't claim head of household filing status. As a result, his filing status is married filing separately, so he can't claim the earned income credit or the credit for child and dependent care expenses.
You, your 5-year-old son, and your son's father lived together all year. You and your son's father aren't married. Your son is a qualifying child of both you and his father because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and his father. Your son's father agrees to let you claim the child as a qualifying child. This means you can claim him as a qualifying child for the child tax credit, head of household filing status, credit for child and dependent care expenses, exclusion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income credit, if you qualify for each of those tax benefits and if your son's father doesn't claim your son as a qualifying child for any of those tax benefits.
The facts are the same as in Example 8 except you and your son's father both claim your son as a qualifying child. In this case, only your son's father will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. If you claimed the child tax credit for your son, the IRS will disallow your claim to this credit. If you don't have another qualifying child or dependent, the IRS will also disallow your claim to head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, and the exclusion for dependent care benefits.
However, you may be able to claim the earned income credit as a taxpayer without a qualifying child. You and your 7-year-old niece, your sister's child, lived with your mother all year. Your niece is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because she meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only your mother can treat her as a qualifying child. Applying the tiebreaker rules to divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart.
If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules described earlier for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart , only the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent and claim the child tax credit or credit for other dependents for the child.
However, only the custodial parent can claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses or the exclusion for dependent care benefits for the child, and only the custodial parent can treat the child as a dependent for the health coverage tax credit.
Also, generally the noncustodial parent can't claim the child as a qualifying child for head of household filing status or the earned income credit. Instead, generally the custodial parent, if eligible, or other eligible person can claim the child as a qualifying child for those two benefits.
If the child is the qualifying child of more than one person for these benefits, then the tiebreaker rules determine whether the custodial parent or another eligible person can treat the child as a qualifying child. You and your 5-year-old son lived all year with your mother, who paid the entire cost of keeping up the home. Your son's father didn't live with you or your son.
Under the rules explained earlier for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart , your son is treated as the qualifying child of his father, who can claim the child tax credit for him. Because of this, you can't claim the child tax credit for your son. However, those rules don't allow your son's father to claim your son as a qualifying child for head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, the earned income credit, or the health coverage tax credit.
You and your mother didn't have any child care expenses or dependent care benefits, so neither of you can claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses or the exclusion for dependent care benefits. Also, neither of you qualifies for the health coverage tax credit. But the boy is a qualifying child of both you and your mother for head of household filing status and the earned income credit because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother.
The support test doesn't apply for the earned income credit. However, you agree to let your mother claim your son. This means she can claim him for head of household filing status and the earned income credit if she qualifies for each and if you don't claim him as a qualifying child for the earned income credit.
You can't claim head of household filing status because your mother paid the entire cost of keeping up the home. You may be able to claim the earned income credit as a taxpayer without a qualifying child. Your mother can't claim your son as a qualifying child for any purpose because her AGI isn't higher than yours.
The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you and your mother both claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. Your mother also claims him as a qualifying child for head of household filing status.
You, as the child's parent, will be the only one allowed to claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to head of household filing status unless she has another qualifying child or dependent.
Not a qualifying child test ,. Member of household or relationship test ,. Gross income test , and. Support test. Unlike a qualifying child, a qualifying relative can be any age. There is no age test for a qualifying relative. You can treat a child as your qualifying relative even if the child has been kidnapped, but the following statements must be true.
In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child met the tests to be your qualifying relative for the part of the year before the date of the kidnapping. A child isn't your qualifying relative if the child is your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. Your year-old daughter, who is a student, lives with you and meets all the tests to be your qualifying child.
She isn't your qualifying relative. Your 2-year-old son lives with your parents and meets all the tests to be their qualifying child. He isn't your qualifying relative. Your son lives with you but isn't your qualifying child because he is 30 years old and doesn't meet the age test.
He may be your qualifying relative if the gross income test and the support test are met. Your year-old grandson lived with his mother for 3 months, with his uncle for 4 months, and with you for 5 months during the year. He isn't your qualifying child because he doesn't meet the residency test. A child isn't the qualifying child of any other taxpayer and so may qualify as your qualifying relative if the child's parent or other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child isn't required to file an income tax return and either:.
Files a return only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid. You support an unrelated friend and her 3-year-old child, who lived with you all year in your home. Your friend has no gross income, isn't required to file a tax return, and doesn't file a tax return. Both your friend and her child are your qualifying relatives if the support test is met. For IRS purposes, a head of household is generally an unmarried taxpayer who has dependents and paid for more than half the costs of the home.
This tax filing status commonly includes single parents and divorced or legally separated parents by the last day of the year with custody. It can also be an adult who is supporting a parent or other relative under certain circumstances.
These certain circumstances can be tricky to understand. Also, your personal situation might be quite complex. For more help with your tax planning, consider consulting with a financial advisor. First, you have to be single or considered unmarried by the last day of the tax year. The IRS considers you unmarried if you meet the following criteria:. If the circumstances of your separation are temporary, the IRS will consider you married for tax purposes.
Qualifying temporary separations include military deployment, staying in a medical treatment facility or going to college.
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