@jeangrup wrote:
@ChampChiran -- Unfortunately, tax law is very complicated and contradicts itself. Therein lies the problem. At the very top of the 1040 form there is a line to write the person's name if you are using them to claim head of household and they are not your dependent. It says, "If you checked the HOH box ..., enter the child's name here if the qualifying person is your child and not your dependent." Also, in Publication 501, it states that a qualifying child can be "...any age if permanently and totally disabled." These are just two small examples of things I've read. Believe me, I've read through so many IRS publications and it's maddening because it's very contridictory.
But, I really appreciate your help. May I ask what your tax expertise is? Thank you
A child that has been certified by a physician can be a Qualifying Child dependent at any age and that is correct. If you are able to claim the child as your dependent that lived with you more than half the tax year and you pay more than half the total upkeep if the home then your an claim HOH.
The IRS publication that stated that the child can be your qualifying relative without being a dependent has a footnote that explains the one and only situation where that can happen and that is when parents that are separated have a custody agreement that allows the parent that does not live with the child to claim the dependent, but the parent that does live with the child can claim the HOH filing status.
The concept of custody ends when the child becomes an adult by the laws of your state (age 18 in most states), after that you must be able to claim the child as a dependent.
Why can't you claim the child as a dependent?
Since you refer to IRS Pub 501 see page 8 under Head of Household
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
5. You must be able to claim the child as a
dependent. However, you meet this test if
you can't claim the child as a dependent
only because the noncustodial parent can
claim the child using the rules described,
later, in Children of divorced or separated
parents (or parents who live apart) under
Qualifying Child or in Support Test for
Children of Divorced or Separated Parents
(or Parents Who Live Apart) under Qualifying
Relative. The general rules for claiming
a child as a dependent are explained,
later, under Dependents.
If that is the case, and the child is under age 18 (or the age of majority in your state) then being disabled makes no difference at all in being able to claim HOH. If the non-custodial parent is claiming than you enter that in the dependent interview. When you said "adult child" I assumed that the child was an adult so custody would not apply.
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
