topic My sister and her child live in my guest house. They do not pay for the house but she pays all expenses related to her and her child separate from me and mine. Both HOH? in Deductions & credits

My sister and her child live in my guest house. They do not pay for the house but she pays all expenses related to her and her child separate from me and mine. Both HOH?

aprilnoriega12 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:40:40 GMT

Re: My sister and her child live in my guest house. They do not pay for the house but she pays al...

DianeC958 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 19:55:07 GMT

Yes, since she is paying all of her expenses related to her and her child separate from you and your children you can both claim Head of Household for tax purposes.

Link about Do I Qualify as Head of Household

Re: My sister and her child live in my guest house. They do not pay for the house but she pays all expenses related to her and her child separate from me and mine. Both HOH?

AmeliesUncle — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 22:07:51 GMT

Probably not.

If your sister isn't paying anything for the house, she is NOT paying more than half of keeping up a home of the year. That would disqualify her from claiming Head of Household.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=8

Re: My sister and her child live in my guest house. They do not pay for the house but she pays al...

ColeenD3 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 22:47:02 GMT

Per Worksheet 1, in Pub 501, if there were no charge for rent, she could still be considered HOH.

"If the total amount you paid is more than the amount others paid, you meet the requirement of paying more than half the cost of keeping up the home."

Re: My sister and her child live in my guest house. They do not pay for the house but she pays al...

AmeliesUncle — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 23:05:05 GMT

@ColeenD3 wrote:
Per Worksheet 1, in Pub 501, if there were no charge for rent, she could still be considered HOH.

But there are still expenses for the home. The OP is presumably paying for mortgage interest, real estate taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.