@NCperson wrote:
@Opus 17 why?
<<But likely neither parent can claim head of household status.>>
if the 3 of them (two parents and one child) all lived together for at least 6 months, one of the parents paid more than 50% of the household expenses and would qualify for HOH.
If parent A, parent B and child C live together, the only person who qualifies to file as head of household is a parent who both pays more than half the household expenses and claims a qualifying person (usually a qualifying child dependent.) If the parent who pays less than half the household expenses claims the child as a dependent, they can't file as HOH because they fail the household expense test, but the parent who pays more than half the expenses also can't file as HOH because they don't have a qualifying person.
When two parents live apart and share custody, there is a rule that may allow the parent where the child lives to use the child as a qualifying person for HOH even if the other parent (where the child does not live) claims the child tax credit. This rule is not available for two parents living together unmarried and sharing custody.
