Generally, no, because only one person can pay more than half the cost of keeping up the home.
If the two people live together as a family,
this would be considered one household, and only one person can be the Head of
Household as only one person can pay more than half the household expenses.
Sometimes it's
possible for two households to live at one address, but the IRS would require
proof that you conduct your households as separate units.
Some factors to consider:
- Are there separate telephone
lines for each family? Separate utility bills?
- Do the taxpayers maintain
separate finances and separate bank accounts? Or do they have a joint
account or commingle funds?
- Does one family contribute to
the financial support to the other?
- Do the adult taxpayers have
separate bedrooms?
- Do the children have separate
bedrooms?
- Do the family members give
Christmas and birthday presents together or separately?
The idea being that
if you operate as a family unit, then you are one household.
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