@Newlifestarts120608 wrote:
Does it make a difference if none of the children are his biologically? My kids are 16, 14, 12 and 6. Survivor Benefits come to them so it is not marked as income I am just the "in care of" because they are under age. I make 45,000 yearly and husband makes 34,000. I live with my mom but pay most of the bills because she is disabled while also saving what money I can aside, he lives with his brother and doesn't pay a lot for his bills so his money is saved.
Appreciate all the help!
For head of household:
You must pay more than half the total costs of the "household" where you live. It sounds like that household includes you, the children, and your mother, but not your spouse. It doesn't matter who claims the children as tax dependents if they live in your household. So you need to add up all the costs of the household, and see if you pay more than half. Household costs include rent or mortgage, utilities, food eaten in the home, and so on. Household expenses does not include personal expenses for the various people living in the home, like their clothing or travel or medical expenses. See worksheet #1 in publication 501.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
Add up the household costs, and determine how much you pay, how much your mother pays, and how much is paid from the survivor benefits. (Even though it is not taxable income, it might be money used for household expenses, depending on how it is used.). If you pay more than half the total household expenses, you can file as HOH.
For claiming a dependent:
He has the same standing to claim step-children as dependents as a biological parent. If you file a joint tax return, there is no problem claiming the dependents on that joint return.
The bottom line:
The bottom line is that you have to test both scenarios. Either
(1) you file HOH and he files MFS (married filing separately), or
(2) you file a joint return (MFJ, married filing jointly).
Both seem to be allowed in this case, if you lived apart since your marriage and you pay more than half the costs of your current household. There are a number of tax benefits for MFJ and HOH that are denied to MFS, but we don't know if he would use those benefits. So the only way to know for sure which way gets the largest refund, is to try it both ways before filing.
My guess is that MFJ will be better, because of how the $2000 child tax credit works when you add his income. But that's just a guess, you have to do the math yourself and see.
