I am reading that you can claim a dependent for Head of Household credit without claiming as a dependent on 1040. See copy of 501 Publication below. Publication 501 (2020), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
For use in preparing 2020 Returns
Head of Household
You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements.
- You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. See Marital Status , earlier, and Considered Unmarried , later.
- You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
- A qualifying person lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the qualifying person is your dependent parent, he or she doesn't have to live with you. See Special rule for parent , later, under Qualifying Person.
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If you qualify to file as head of household, your tax rate will usually be lower than the rates for single or married filing separately. You will also receive a higher standard deduction than if you file as single or married filing separately..
How to file.
Indicate your choice of this filing status by checking the "Head of household" box on the Filing Status line at the top of Form 1040 or 1040-SR. If the child who qualifies you for this filing status isn't claimed as your dependent in the Dependents section of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, enter the child's name in the entry space at the bottom of the Filing Status section. Use the Head of a household column of the Tax Table or Section D of the Tax Computation Worksheet to figure your tax.
