Head of household

[pibblemom2]

Can I file HOH if I am single, have dependents, but rent half of a house?

[xmasbaby0]

Not sure what you think renting half a house has to do with it.

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 filing status (single or married filing separately) into Personal Info, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.

[pibblemom2]

Renting half of parents house. They file their own taxes, and my boyfriend files his own. He filed single and got audited because he didn't claim HOH.

[pibblemom2]

In order to claim HOH you must prove your paying for half the upkeep on the house. We don't, we just pay rent.

[xmasbaby0]

@pibblemom2 

If you and your BF live together then only ONE of you can claim your child.  You cannot "split" the child-related credits.  So only one of you could file as HOH and claim your child.  Assuming you have a child--you actually did not say who your dependent is.  If you do not have a child then neither of you is HOH.  You are each just Single.

Did you go through the questions for HOH that were provided for you?

[pibblemom2]

Yes, I read your link. Thanks. I don't claim anyone, I'm a stay at home mom. Boyfriend works, we have 2 children under the age of 10.

[VolvoGirl]

Do you have any income?  If you don't have any income you do not have to file a return and you don't get any credits for children, etc.  Your boyfriend (or your parents) might even be able to claim you as a dependent.

[pibblemom2]

No,I have no income. I'm a stay at home mom. We are living with the boyfriend's parents, and are paying rent. Boyfriend files his own taxes separate from his parents. He filed for this year and is being audited because he filed single. IRS is claiming he can claim the HOH status. I didn't think he could because we don't upkeep the home, just pay rent.  We live with our 2 kids at the boyfriend's parents home.

[VolvoGirl]

So you don't file a tax return, right?

Does your boyfriend also claim you as a dependent with the kids?  Somebody should be claiming you.

[pibblemom2]

Yes. He claims the kids as well as myself.

[VolvoGirl]

Ok good.  Just checking.  Sounds like he can file Head of Household.  Did he use Turbo Tax?  It should have given him HH unless he answered a question wrong.  

[pibblemom2]

Yes, he filed using Turbo tax. It never gave him the option. The options were: single, married, divorced, legally separated, and widowed. 

[VolvoGirl]

Well if you pick single and then enter a child it should automatically switch him to Head of Household.  Unless because you live with his parents.  But that shouldn't matter if you pay rent.  Have to ask around.

Here's a FAQ for Head of Household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/family/help/do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household/00/25539

Who is a qualifying person for Head of Household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/family/help/what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household/00/2...

[macuser_22]

You must have misunderstood.  The IRS will never audit for NOT claiming HOH - they will audit if you DO claim HOH and are not entitled to do so.

Unless the parents claim the rent as rental income on a schedule E on the parents tax return then the "rent" you pay them is probably just sharing expenses and not actual rent especially if the "rent" is less than you would pay on the open market from a unrelated landlord.   If that is the case then it is the parents household and you and BF are part of their household.

Now it is possible to have separate households under one roof, but the IRS requires that the households are indeed separate. 

Note that calming HOH requires that you pay MORE than half the keeping of the entire household and that includes all household expenses including food of everyone in that household.   If the parents supply the food and you all eat together then you might have a hard time convincing the IRS that the households are indeed separate.