I recently divorced my kids mother and pay for more than half of my kid’s expenses, however TurboTax defaults me to “single” status. How do I get this to say HoH status?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
December 9, 2024
3 replies
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Mike9241

Level 15

One of the rules for claiming HoH is that at least one legally related dependent used your household as their principal place of abode for more than six months of the year.

you can also use this IRS webpage to check your filing status

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/what-is-my-filing-status

Mike9241

xmasbaby0

Level 15

You have not mentioned where the children live. That is very important. Only the parent who the children lived with for more than 183 nights can file as head of household.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Opus 17

Level 15

You can't claim your children as dependents unless they lived in your home more than half the year, unless you get a signed release from the parent who does have custody. The IRS follows actual physical custody -- where the children lived -- not any court orders or financial support. Even if you get a signed release from the other parent, that only allows you to claim the child tax credit, not HOH, because that always stays with the parent who had custody more than half the year.

If it is the case that both parents had physical custody more than half the year (such as, because you separated in August and both parents lived in the same home as the children for 6+ months before that), then the first tiebreaker goes to whichever parent the children lived with the greater number of nights.

See IRS publication 501 for the full rules.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-501