Can I claim myself as head of household but not claim my qualifying child as my dependent?

[norinne3]

my so 31 does not work weigh 400 lbs was I wrong to claim head of household

[KatrinaB · Accepted solution]

You will qualify to carry your child as a non dependent for head of household filing status, as long as you met the requirements below.

1. You were the custodial parent in 2016. You will pas this test if you had your child for more days during the tax year.

2. You were considered unmarried in 2016. You will pass this test if you were divorced, legally separated, or lived apart from the other parent for the last six months of the year.

3. You provided more than half the cost of living expenses for you and your child for more than half of 2016. If you split living expenses with someone one else, then you must have paid for more than half of the household expenses. 

Also remember that there can only be one head of household per address.

Please follow the directions below to enter your non dependent child into Turbo Tax.

• Sign in to your account.
• Click take me to my return.
• Click personal info tab, at the top of the page.
• Click the edit tab beside your child's name or click the tab to add a dependent.
• Once you've entered your child's personal information, you'll get to the screen that says, "Do you have an agreement with the child's other parent about who can claim her?" You need to answer yes.
• On the next screen, answer yes as well.
• On the next screen, you'll see a message that says, "Your child does not count as a dependent." 

You have correctly entered your child in as a non dependent.