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Question about Head of Household and Claiming a parent as dependent

user15854 — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 18:08:10 GMT

Hello,

I'm 33y and I was married till November 2024 when I got divorced, my widowed mother recently became a permanent resident and relocated from home country (Lebanon) to the U.S in September of 2024 and started living with me.

I had no children from my marriage and I used to support my mom overseas since she does not work ( I was sending her monthly payments via MoneyGram) and now she has been living with me since September 10th 2024 and I support her 100%, she does not have any income. Obviously, I pay all the expenses of the home where we live.

For the tax year 2024 when I file my taxes, can I claim head of household and use my mother as a dependent?

I am afraid since she only lived in the U.S for 3 months only in 2024 this might be an issue even though I was 100% supporting all her expenses whether she's living here or abroad.

Thank you for your help.

Re: Question about Head of Household and Claiming a parent as dependent

DoninGA — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 18:34:50 GMT

The only issue that may prevent you from claiming her as your dependent is her status in this country under the Qualifying Relative rules.

IRS rules page 11 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=11

Citizen or Resident Test
You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $5,050 (social security does not count) in 2024
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse

TurboTax support FAQ for Head of Household - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household-2021/L0NxUtVc2_US_en_US?uid=m5ct5h9w

Re: Question about Head of Household and Claiming a parent as dependent

user15854 — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 18:37:04 GMT

Thank you for your answer. She became a permanent resident on September 10th 2024 when she entered the country with her green card. So would that clear that issue?

Re: Question about Head of Household and Claiming a parent as dependent

DoninGA — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 18:46:07 GMT

@user15854 wrote:

Thank you for your answer. She became a permanent resident on September 10th 2024 when she entered the country with her green card. So would that clear that issue?

Yes, that clears the issue. You should have no problem claiming her as your dependent and being eligible for Head of Household filing status.

Re: Question about Head of Household and Claiming a parent as dependent

user15854 — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 18:50:34 GMT

This is great! Thank you