Are You Eligible to File Your Taxes As "head of Household"?
Even though you are the head of your household, you might not qualify as head of household under the income tax filing status.
The requirements are somewhat more stringent than simply being the head of the house.
To qualify for head of household the taxpayer must be unmarried on the last day of the year.
To be considered unmarried for tax filing status the person must be legally divorced or separated from their spouse and filing a separate income tax return from their spouse.
The person must pay for more than 50% of the cost of maintaining the home and the home must be the principal residence of that person and their qualifying child/children or relative for the past six months.
The person's spouse cannot have lived in that home for any period in the last six months.
A person's principal residence status does not change in the face of absence due to vacation, hospitalization, short-term incarceration, business, education, or military service.
To determine if a person has paid more than half the costs of maintaining a home, those costs can include, but are not limited to rent, mortgage, real estate taxes, home owner's or renter's insurance, food eaten in the home, home repairs and improvements, utilities, and real estate taxes.
The person is head of household if they maintain a home for a qualifying child or any other dependent for six months.
The dependent must be a daughter or son, adopted child, or an eligible foster child, and any descendant of these such as grandchildren, or nieces and nephews.
The other qualifying dependents are mother or father for whom the person has maintained the home for an entire year and can claim as a dependent on his or her income tax return.
If you have questions as to whether you qualify for a head of household filing status, you may contact the Internal Revenue Service.
You might wish, however, to consult a tax professional and have them prepare your income tax return for you.
Filing as head of household, as we have seen, has more complications than one might contemplate.
A tax professional is competently trained to help determine the best income tax filing status for your situation.
They can answer any questions you have regarding filing status and any tax credits, deductions, or exemptions for which you may qualify.
The requirements are somewhat more stringent than simply being the head of the house.
To qualify for head of household the taxpayer must be unmarried on the last day of the year.
To be considered unmarried for tax filing status the person must be legally divorced or separated from their spouse and filing a separate income tax return from their spouse.
The person must pay for more than 50% of the cost of maintaining the home and the home must be the principal residence of that person and their qualifying child/children or relative for the past six months.
The person's spouse cannot have lived in that home for any period in the last six months.
A person's principal residence status does not change in the face of absence due to vacation, hospitalization, short-term incarceration, business, education, or military service.
To determine if a person has paid more than half the costs of maintaining a home, those costs can include, but are not limited to rent, mortgage, real estate taxes, home owner's or renter's insurance, food eaten in the home, home repairs and improvements, utilities, and real estate taxes.
The person is head of household if they maintain a home for a qualifying child or any other dependent for six months.
The dependent must be a daughter or son, adopted child, or an eligible foster child, and any descendant of these such as grandchildren, or nieces and nephews.
The other qualifying dependents are mother or father for whom the person has maintained the home for an entire year and can claim as a dependent on his or her income tax return.
If you have questions as to whether you qualify for a head of household filing status, you may contact the Internal Revenue Service.
You might wish, however, to consult a tax professional and have them prepare your income tax return for you.
Filing as head of household, as we have seen, has more complications than one might contemplate.
A tax professional is competently trained to help determine the best income tax filing status for your situation.
They can answer any questions you have regarding filing status and any tax credits, deductions, or exemptions for which you may qualify.
Source...