Can either of us file as head of household?

[winative85]

I am divorcing and my ex and I will live in the same house with 2 children. We will share all house/child costs 50/50, but will each pay for our own groceries, toiletries, etc. Because we are sharing house costs 50/50, does that mean neither of us can file as head of household? What would our filing status be?

[DoninGA]

If you are still legally married on 12/31/2018 and living together you can only file as Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately.
If you are not legally married on 12/31/2018 and both live in the same household then only one of you can file as Head of Household.  One of you is going to provide over one-half the cost to maintain the home, even if by $1.

[macuser_22]

HOH requires that the taxpayer pays *more* than half of all the costs of keeping the household.   If exactally 50/50 then nobody pays more than half so nobody can claim HOH.   Note that if the ITS questions it, they will require documentation to verify the actual household costs and proof that the taxpayer that claims HOH actually paid it themselves so keeping detailed records for all costs is imperative.

See  IRS Pub 17 page 23 (Worksheet 2-1- Cost of Keeping Up a Home)
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf</a>

[Opus 17]

If you are legally divorced as of 12/31/18, but still sharing the same household, only one of you can file as HOH, the other must file as single.  The one who wants to file as HOH must claim at least one of the children as dependent, and must have paid "more than half" the costs of maintaining the household.  ("More" can be just $1 more but it must be "more."  If you share costs exactly equally than neither one can file as HOH.)

If you are legally married as of 12/31/18, then neither can file as HOH.  You can file married filing jointly if you agree, or you file married filing separately. 

[Texas Roger]

The one who wants to file as HOH must claim at least one of the children as a "qualifying child". They are not required to claim the dependency exemption for the child to qualify for HOH filing status. The dependency exemption can be relinquished to the other parent if the one claiming the child as a qualifying child so chooses.