Head of household

[colemanpamela99]

I have a single client that want to claim HoH. She has dependents that have lived with her for 12 and they are us citizen however they are not her children. They are her girlfriend's children. Her girlfriend does not need to file taxes since she has no income. If appears the client does not qualify for the CTC but another dependent credit? Nor does she qualify for HoH since she does not technically have a qualifying dependent? Please advise. Thank you.

[DoninGA]

Since the dependents are not related to her she would only be eligible for the Other Dependent credit of $500 for each dependent.  She cannot have Head of Household filing status because she is not claiming a blood relative as a dependent.  She can only file as Single.

[xmasbaby0]

Wondering what you mean by "I have a single client."   TurboTax is not licensed for use by paid tax preparers---so what do you mean by "client?"

The qualifying dependent for HOH filing status must be blood-related.  A child of a GF or BF is not a qualified dependent for HOH filing status.  The child *might* be a dependent for the $500 credit for other dependents, but your "client" is not eligible to get any other child-related credits for the child of a GF or BF.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

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.

CREDIT FOR OTHER DEPENDENTS

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4499708-what-is-the-500-credit-for-other-dependents-family-tax-cre...

[Opus 17]

You should read publication 501 for the definition of qualifying child dependent and qualifying relative dependent, as well as the definition of qualifying person for head of household status. If you are preparing tax returns on a professional basis, you should really have this publication on speed dial.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

We don’t mind answering questions, even for professionals who need help, but as noted, TurboTax itself is not licensed for use by paid professionals, and it is a violation of IRS regulations for a paid professional to use a home version, because it does not have a place to enter your professional tax preparer identification number.  Intuit offers several professional tax products you might be interested in.
https://www.intuit.com

[colemanpamela99]

Thanks for the help. And to answer your question. I use this forum for assistance on interpreting the IRS regulation. It's nice to have a place where people have much so much more experience. I do not use turbo tax for clients. 

[KrisD15]

And that is why we are here, to help shed light on tax issues. 

Thank you for using TurboTax.

[colemanpamela99]

Thank you! That's what I thought. I appreciate you!

[colemanpamela99]

Thank you!!