Can you show me how to ensure that I am Head of Household for my tax return?

[monicaewooden]

After the Household section, Turbo Tax tells me that I must file as Single. How do I mark that I am responsible for more than 50% expenses for my child and adult dependent?

[Bsch4477]

Do you fulfill the requirements for Head of Household?

To qualify for Head of Household (HOH) filing status with the IRS, you must meet several criteria:

 

• Marital Status: You must be unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year. This means you are single, divorced, legally separated, or your spouse didn't live with you during the last six months of the year.
• Household Expenses: You must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year. This includes expenses like rent or mortgage, utilities, repairs, and food eaten in the home.
• Qualifying Person: You need to have a qualifying person living with you in the home for more than half the year (with some exceptions). 

Qualifying person requirements

• Relationship: A qualifying person can be your child (including adopted, stepchild, or foster child), sibling, half-sibling, or step-sibling, or a descendant of any of them.
• Age: Generally, the child must be younger than you and under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student. There is no age limit if the child is permanently and totally disabled.
• Residence: The qualifying person must live with you for more than half the year, except for temporary absences like school or hospitalization.
• Support: The qualifying child must not have provided more than half of their own support for the tax year.

[rjs]

Being "responsible for" the expenses of your dependents does not mean that you can file as head of household. The requirements for head of household filing status are somewhat complicated, as you can see from what Bsch4477 posted. If you answered the questions in TurboTax accurately, TurboTax is most likely correct in saying that you have to file as single. If you want to check, you can use What is my filing status? on the IRS web site, or see "Head of Household" on page 8 of IRS Publication 501.