Can my mother be head of household ..she has a handicapped son,, but he had income this year via the sale of an IRA that went into a special needs trust

[MichaelDC · Accepted solution]

Yes, you're mother could be head of household and also claim her handicapped son as a dependent.

If the IRA was merely transferred (rolled over) to the special needs trust, it's not taxable income to him. (Is he funding his own trust?) You can tell if it's a rollover by looking at the Form 1099-R, Box 7. If it has a Code G, it's considered a rollover and not taxable to him.

The main issue is that son cannot provide half of his own support for your mother to be head of household and claim her son. If the IRA went into the special needs trust, it is not available for support.

He can file his own return, be of any age and have whatever income he has as long as he doesn't provide most of his own support.

[shahn5419]

If he files his own return and claims himself as a dependent then my mom can not claim him and thus not be head of household.. would that be correct?

[MichaelDC]

That's correct. However, when he files, he should say that he is being claimed as a dependent on someone else's return.
Go to the beginning in the Personal Info section and scroll down. Question 3 will ask "someone else can claim me as a dependent on their tax return". Click yes. The following question asks if this person will claim me. Again, answer yes.
Good Luck!