Can I claim head of household?

Question

I live with my fiancee and we have 2 children together. He made more money than I did last year. By itemizing deductions and such he only needs to claim one of the children to break even this year. Can I claim the other child, file head of household and claim the earned income credit?

Answer 1

you sure can, though you're at a high risk of getting audited if this happens IRS will send you both letters asking all sorts of questions regarding who lives and supports the kids (eventhough you guys are living together by you claiming head of household it's like you're telling the IRS that you guys are separated) for example if you guys get audited IRS will determine who gets the child and let's say you don't get it then you have to return all the earned income credit back with some interest and penalties.

People do this all the time getting thousands from the IRS and they have never gotten audited so you're at risk, it can happen though.

Answer 2

Did you pay more than half of the cost of keeping up the household? If not, you can't claim head of household - and if you live together and he made more than you did, you might have a hard time proving in an audit that you paid more than half.

Assuming that your income makes you eligible for EIC, you should be able to claim that.

Answer 3

By 'break even', I assume you mean not owe taxes in addition to his withholding. NEVER make decisions on that basis. Have your taxes computed both ways (if both are legal). Choose the option that results in the lowest TOTAL tax.

Now that my lecture is over, you may be able to claim the EIC, but I don't believe you can claim Head of Household.

Answer 4

To qualify for HOH, you must pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year with a qualified dependent. In your situation, if you and your fiancee "split" the costs 50/50 for rent/utilities and so on, then if you buy food for you and one child--he buys food for himself and one child then you both qualify as HOH for that year. It is possible that EIC will be there but that depends on your income. This is perfectly legal. Please contact your local tax office for further details.

Answer 5

You can certainly claim your child. If your income is below the limits for EIC, you will get EIC. It is not necessary to file as Head of Household to get the EIC.

Since your fiance is earning more money, if he paid more of the household bills, he could file as HH and get a better break on his taxes.

Answer 6

Probably not, since your boyfriend contributed more to the household than you did. This is from the IRS website:

Generally, to qualify for head of household status, you must be unmarried and you must have paid more than half the cost of maintaining as your home a household that was the main home for a qualifying person for more than half the year.

Answer 7

If you want to claim "head of household" you are safest to get married. After 2 children, what are you waiting for anyway? Divine intervention? It sounds like you BOTH want to claim head of household with one child each...you can't split the children...that won't fly...even if you were married.

The definition of head-of-household has been narrowed considerably more due to changes in the tax codes made in 2004. As a result, many single taxpayers who have dependents living with them are no longer permitted to file as head-of-household and get the corresponding tax break associated with that preferred filing status.

Many unmarried couples with children also will be pushed out of the head-of-household status and have to pay higher taxes as "single" filers.

Take the situation of an unmarried man living with his unemployed girlfriend and her young child. The family of three lives solely on his earned income.

In 2004, the man could claim his girlfriend and her child both as his dependents and file his return as a head of household, resulting in lower taxes. But for 2005, he may not use the child to claim head-of-household status because he and the child are not blood related.

Formerly, the primary test was the support test. The the man was eligible to file as head-of-household because he supported a child living in his household.

Now the primary test is the relationship test, and he would fail that because he and the child are not related. And since the mother is not employed, and therefore does not file income tax returns, no one can claim this child as a dependent -- not even the person who provides 100 percent of the child's financial support.

Because of other changes in the law, the unmarried male breadwinner can't sneak in the back door to claim head-of-household status on the theory that his girlfriend's child is, in effect, his "foster child." Now, for a taxpayer to claim head-of-household status because he supports a "foster child," the child must be placed in the taxpayer's home by some authorizing agency, such as a court or government office.

These limitations to head-of-household filing did not pop out of nowhere. They were foreshadowed by other changes in the tax codes which occurred in 2001.

That is when Congress changed the definition of "foster child" for purposes of various tax credits. As a result, many unmarried parents are no longer able to claim the child credit and the earned-income credit. Those deprived of these credits can lose thousands of dollars in benefits.

Prior to 2001, the tax code had two requirements to determine whether a taxpayer qualified as a foster parent for purposes of tax credits: (1) The child had to live with the taxpayer the entire year; and (2) the taxpayer had to provide more than half the financial support for the child.

Now, the child either must be a qualifying relative or be placed in the home by a government agency. The fact that the biological parent has court ordered custody of the child doesn't count because such custody orders do not pertain to the parent's new unmarried partner.

It is interesting how much has changed over the past several years in terms of tax policy.

For example, many single parents have been pushed from the head-of-household category to the less-preferred "single" filing status, resulting in a significant increase in income taxes.

Answer 8

no person on your house of abode can declare head of relatives, for 2 reasons. First, no person has a based new child residing with them, and 2nd, no person paid over 0.5 the cost of preserving the abode. anybody data as single.

Answer 9

Your finally getting around to filing for 2006? What's the rush?

Answer 10

Yes you can as long as
1) child is definitely yours biologically
2.) you provided at least half the support for this child
3) child lived with you.

If any of these answers are no, I wouldn't do it. If you can answer yes to them, go for it!!