Can I claim head of household if my adult nephew lives with me and is on disability?

[nohobrown]

Will it affect his disability?  If so, can I claim head of household without claiming him as my dependent?  I provided his housing, car, food and dental work in 2017.

[Phillip1 · Accepted solution]

I cannot really comment on the effect claiming him as a dependent will have on his benefits - you may want to check with the Social Security Administration on this issue.

You can claim him as a dependent (and use him to claim the head of household filing status) if all of the following applies:

Qualifying relative:

1. He cannot be claimed as a qualifying child dependent by his parents or anyone else.
2. He meets the relative test as a nephew
3. He cannot have income of more than 4,050 dollars for the year. This doesn't include social security income.
4. You must have provided more than half of his financial support. If he spent his disability payments on his own support, you need to calculate which one of you provided more than half of his support. Use IRS Worksheet 2 on page 16 of IRS Publication 501 to calculate support provided for your nephew. 

[nohobrown]

If the relative made more than 4,050 last year, can I still file HOH without claiming him as a dependent?

[Phillip1]

Only if there is someone else that lived with you and qualifies as your dependent.

[nohobrown]

His only income last year was disability but it was more than 4,050.  Is disability taxable and does is count towards claiming him as my dependent?

[Phillip1]

Depends on the source. If the source is social security (which is where most disability comes from) that will not count for the 4,050 dollar income test.