Can me and my girlfriend both file head of house hold?

[bruce-vang]

My girlfriend and I are not married with 2 kids. Each of us has been claiming one child for the past few years. Before we were renting an apt under my name. Now that we bought a house under both of our name can both of us claim head of household? We make almost the same income and shared a bank account so household expenses is pretty much paid for equally.

[DoninGA]

No you cannot both claim Head of Household when you live in the same residence.  Only one of you can be eligible to have provided over one-half the cost to maintain your household, even if by $1.

[MichaelL1 · Accepted solution]

To claim head of household, you must pay over half the costs of maintaining the home.  

Two people cannot pay over half the cost of maintaining the same household.