Claiming your children

[Lisabfranklin]

If you are divorced and have a child (19 year old) who is a student away in college,  when Turbo Tax asks how long the student lived with you, if the child lived with you during the summer and during school breaks, how many months do you list to answer that question.  When I tried different amounts of months, it changed my status from single to Head of Household.  How many months does it need to be to be able to claim Head of Household? 

[AnnetteB6]

If your child is away at college, that is considered to be a temporary absence.  Therefore, the child lived with you the entire year or all twelve months.

The requirement for Head of Household is that your qualifying person lives in the household more than half of the year.