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Level 1
June 6, 2019
Solved

My friend and I both live in the same household. Can we both file head of household even though we don’t have any dependents and we both contributed to the bills?

  • June 6, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 41 views

My friend and I both live in the same household. Is it possible that we can both file head of household even though we don’t have any dependents that we can claim? 

Best answer by DoninGA

No.  Neither of you can have Head of Household status since neither of you have a qualifying person as a dependent.  And one of you must have provided over one-half of the cost to maintain the home, even if by $1.  So even if you did have a dependent only one could have HOH filing status.

2 replies

DoninGA
Level 15
DoninGALevel 15Answer
Level 15
June 6, 2019

No.  Neither of you can have Head of Household status since neither of you have a qualifying person as a dependent.  And one of you must have provided over one-half of the cost to maintain the home, even if by $1.  So even if you did have a dependent only one could have HOH filing status.

macuser_22
Alumni - Champ
Alumni - Champ
June 6, 2019
To claim HOH you must have a closely related dependent who can only be:

    Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)

    Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.

    Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.

    Your stepfather or stepmother.

    A son or daughter of your brother or sister.

    A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.

    A brother or sister of your father or mother.

    Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.

Nobody else qualifies.
**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.**