You must pay over half of the cost of maintaining the home. Here's something from the IRS to help you determine whether or not you do so.
Keeping Up a Home
The home you live in most of the time is your main home and can be a house, houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment, or condominium.
Include in the cost of upkeep expenses such as:
- Rent,
- Mortgage interest,
- Real estate taxes,
- Insurance on the home,
- Repairs,
- Utilities, and
- Food eaten in the home.
If you used payments you received under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or other public assistance programs to pay part of the cost of keeping up your home, you cannot count them as money you paid. However, you must include them in the total cost of keeping up your home to figure if you paid over half the cost.
Do not include in the cost of upkeep expenses such as:
- Clothing,
- Education,
- Medical treatment,
- Vacations,
- Life insurance, or
- Transportation.
Do not include the rental value of a home you own or the value of your services or those of a member of your household. Also, do not include any government or charitable assistance you received because of your temporary relocation due to the storms, tornadoes, or flooding in a Midwestern disaster area.
