Can I claim Head of Household

[ele_25]

I claimed my disabled ex-husband as my dependent (we legally divorced). I lived with him and cared for a full year because he cannot live alone due to his health condition. My ex-husband received disability benefits of more than $5,050. My filing status is reported as a single. Can I change my filing status from single to head of household? I read that other relatives can be considered qualifying dependents for the head of household filing status. I finished my return. Should I amend my return?

[xmasbaby0]

No--your ex-husband cannot be a qualifying dependent for Head of Household filing status.   He is like a roommate who is not related to you.....sorry.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household...

• 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.

[ele_25]

We legally divorced 4 years ago. I thought he would be categorized as other dependent for me because I paid more than 90% of the cost of maintaining a qualifying household, paying all expenses, including rent, utilities, repairs, and groceries. Can I claim him as my dependent, not filing as a head of household? I filed my return, then should I amend my return removing him from my dependent, or the IRS would adjust it? What should I do? 

[xmasbaby0]

If his income was less than $5050---not counting any Social Security--- he can be claimed as a dependent to get the $500 credit for other dependents.   But he cannot make you eligible for HOH filing status.

[ele_25]

Thank you. His disability compensation, which exceeded $5,050, is the only source of income he has. I filed my return as a single person with one dependant, therefore, it appears that I made no mistakes. Or would the IRS adjust my refund, or should I amend my return to remove him as a dependent? What should I do? 

[BrittanyS]

To qualify as a dependent, he would be required to meet the following qualifications:

• Lived with you for the entire year
• Make less than $5,050.  If the disability compensation he received is Social Security benefits, this does not count towards the $5,050 limit.  If it is another form of disability compensation, he would not qualify.
• You provide more than half the total support for the year.

If your ex-husband does not qualify, you will need to amend the return to remove him as a dependent.  To amend the return, you will want to wait until the return has been approved and any refund has been received prior to amendment.  When you amend the return, you will pay back any difference with the amendment.  To amend your return, follow these steps in TurboTax:

• You must first wait until the initial return is completely processed.
• You will have to use the same TurboTax account that you used for the original tax return.
• Once you begin your amendment, you'll see your original return.
• The refund calculator will start new at $0 and only reflect the changes in the refund or tax due
• Only make changes to the areas of your return that need to be corrected.
• You have three years from the date you filed your return or two years after you paid the tax due (whichever is later) to file an amendment

Select your product below and follow the instructions. 

Amend TurboTax Online 

Amend TurboTax CD/Download 

For more information on claiming a dependent, see the link below:

• Rules for claiming a dependent

@ele_25 

[ele_25]

Thank you for your reply. Everything is "Yes" for these 3: 1) Lived with me for the entire year
2) He made less than $5,050, he received only the disability compensation from the SSA 3) I provided more than half the total support for the year. So, I need to amend as a head of household. Someone here stated that he is a roommate and not a dependent, thus I wasn't sure.

[DianeW777]

No. Your ex husband can be a dependent however Head of Household requires the dependent to be related to you and at this point it is not your spouse. See the relationship rules below and more information in the link.

• What is a 'qualifying person' for Head of Household filing status?

Head of Household. A qualifying relative would be:

• Your mother or father (including your stepfather or stepmother), if you're qualified to claim them as a dependent (even if you're not claiming them as such) OR
• A relative related by blood, legal adoption, or marriage other than a parent (see the full list of qualifying relatives below) AND lived with you for more than half the year AND that you're able to claim as a dependent (even if you're not claiming them as such)
  • Qualifying relatives:
    • Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister
    • Your grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent
    • 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

@ele_25 

[ele_25]

Thank you for your reply. I claimed my disabled ex-husband as my dependent (we legally divorced 4 years ago) but filed as single. To be honest, I was confused. Even though we lived together, I provided more than half the total support for the year; no one claims him, and he has only disability income; I cannot file as head of household because he isn't my qualifying relative, am I correct?

[DianeW777]

Yes, you are correct. Your ex husband will not qualify you for the Head of Household filing status.

@ele_25 

[xmasbaby0]

That is correct.   He can be your dependent and you can get the $500 credit for other dependents, but he cannot make you eligible to file as HOH.   He is not any kind of relative-----he is your EX-spouse----so the same as  a roommate as far as the IRS is concerned.

[ele_25]

Thank you. 

[NCperson]

@ele_25 it is confusing.  The rules to be a dependent are different that who qualifies to be your dependent for HOH purposes.

Someone who lives with you all year (and meets the other qualifications to be a dependent as stated above) and is not related to you by blood can be your dependent.  However, to be a Qualifying Person (the technical requirement for HOH), that person must generally be a blood relative (excluding cousins). 

So the issue here is that while your ex-husband qualifies to be a dependent, he is not related to you by blood, so it doesn't meet the requirement to file HOH.