Question on claiming Head of Household?

Question

Me and my daughter live with my mom. I work a full-time job this year and make more than my mother, but she still pays for the house, bills, etc. I pay for ALL my daughter's expenses. Can my mother still claim head of household without a dependent (my child)? I would like to claim my daughter this year but my mom would end up paying more if she does the "single" thing. HELP! I can't claim head of household because i do not pay for much of the house things right? Not sure how this works. I've tried researching it and it just says my mom can claim head of household using my child but my child can't be claimed on anyone else's taxes (that would be mine). I need help really bad.

Answer 1

If you have not paid more than 1/2 of the expenses for the upkeep of the house, you are not able to claim head of household. However, you mother should be able to use your daughter as her exemption and claim head of household. You won't be able to claim her...as you've seen. There are some special circumstances for filing if you are a divorced or seperated individual....but ultimately you have to be the "head of household" by keeping more than 1/2 the expenses on a home. Your child should be legally considered a dependant for your mother being in the house that she keeps the majority of the expenses on and her legal granchild. She'll recieve all the applicable credits that you would recieve as well....so, you should just have her claim her and maximize the tax return for both of you and split the additional tax credit as you two see fit. Otherwise you would be giving the goverment more money than would be applicable by insisting on claiming your daughter, and passing up the additional deduction for one of you as Head of Household.




UPDATE....Whoops...in reading further in the publication I gave you....it appears that in table 4 of a qualifying child...your mother would indeed be able to claim head of household for her granddaughter even if she does not claim her as an exemption. Thus...she would file Head of Household with no dependants and you would file single with 1 dependant child.


here's the quote from the table:

Table 4. Who Is a Qualifying Person Qualifying You To File as Head of Household? 1

Caution. See the text of this publication for the other requirements you must meet to claim head of household filing status.
IF the person is your . . . AND . . . THEN that person is . . .
qualifying child (such as a son, daughter, or grandchild who lived with you more than half the year and meets certain other tests)

2 he or she is single

[They are]: a qualifying person, whether or not you can claim an exemption for the person.

Answer 2

I know what you mean when you say you pay ALL of your daughter's expenses but, in reality, you don't pay her share of the electric bill, other utilities, or housing costs. From what you said, your mother pays to maintain the home and pays the largest share to maintain the household. Claiming exemptions, and figuring out who is a dependent means figuring out who is supporting whom. It is about money, and who is spending it.

Probably either you or your mother could justify claiming Head of Household, and taking your daughter's dependent exemption. Head of Household also brings a larger standard deduction. There is a worksheet in IRS publication 501, and Publication17 which organizes and splits all your household expenses. You could fill it out and see who actually pays more than half the household support. From what you said earlier, after you factor in food, and clothing, and personal items, it seems like the split is going to come out very close to equal, or 50-50 between you and your mom.

Another idea, rather than trying to follow the worksheet to the letter, is that both of you could figure your taxes two ways. Each person chould take all the credits allowed including EIC in your first draft of your tax return. If your mother pays mortgage interest, and property taxes, it may be better if she files single and itemizes her deductions, while you claim Head of Household.

After your drafts are done, compare to see who benefits most, and who gets the most money back. File the returns that create the largest EIC refund, and benefit both of you the most.

If you want to split the child tax credit, dependent care credit, and EIC refund proceeds more fairly between yourselves once the IRS sends the money, that is also an option for you to decide.

Answer 3

Your daughter meets the rules to be a qualifying child of either you or your mother, so the two of you can decide which of you will treat her as a qualifying child - that person would take the exemption for your daughter, the child tax credit, and various other benefits.

If you claim your daughter, then your mother can't claim head of household because she doesn't have a "qualifying person".

You can't claim head of household because you don't pay over half the cost of keeping up the home.

Answer 4

Referring to Publication 501 from the IRS, it appears that your mother can claim head of household since your daughter is a qualifying dependent, but you may still claim her as an exemption on your return. Go to www.irs.gov and look up Publication 501 for all the requirements on this.

Answer 5

Whoever is paying the greater amount of all expenses can file under head of household and claim the child as a dependent.

Answer 6

Can I claim head of household I live in my moms home but pay all the bills. She draws a retirement income and pays her own medical bills

Answer 7

If you start paying your mother rent for the space that you and your daughter occupy in her home, you will then be paying 100% of the cost of maintaining the home for your daughter -- that is, the space that you occupy in your mom's home. Then you CAN claim HoH.

Your mom cannot claim HoH if you claim your daughter.

Answer 8

yES YOU DO NEED HELP WITH THIS ISSUE AND THE BEST PLACE TO GET IT IS TH ONE YOU HAVE TO ANSWER TO AND THATS THE IRS. tHEY ARE WILLING TO HELP ANYBODY WITH TAX PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS TO HELP US. YOU WILL BE MORE SECURE ONCE YOU HAVE THEIR ADVICE. THEIR TELEPHONE IS 1-800-829-1040..bettyk