Ex hasn't lived with me for 2 yrs & won't file taxes & barely worked. They owe Child support. Why am I HOH, not filing separate? Will my taxes be used for their support?

[kella7074-gmail-]

I have all 3 of our kids but they also have 2 other kids that they owe child support on. In the past I had to file Injured Spouse so that child support didn't take All of MY taxes as well. We haven't gotten divorced yet (not from lack of trying) but my ex lives an entire state away, has barely worked due to health issues and won't file taxes because they know the child support office is going to just take it anyways and they can't afford the filing fees (Their words). When I filed "Married, filing separately" last year, I was given all my taxes with no problem but something changed with TurboTax this year and when I answered all the questions, it put me as Head of Household instead of filing separately. Do I have to file Injured Spouse again? Will this come back to bite me later? I answered that they weren't filing taxes, barely worked but that they hadn't lived with me at all in 2023 and it still has me as HOH and I'm afraid this will delay or hurt the amount I get back in taxes. As a single mother, this money would greatly help me get ahead finally.

[xmasbaby0]

File Head of Household.   You meet the criteria.   You live apart from your spouse and you have the dependent children living with you.  HOH has a higher standard deduction, so more of your income is "tax free"  with that filing status.  And...no, you do not file injured spouse.  You just file as HOH and let your deadbeat spouse twist in the wind.  You do not enter anything about him or his SSN on your tax return.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.

Your standard deduction lowers your taxable income. The standard deduction makes some of your income “tax free.”  It is not a refund.  You will see your standard or itemized deduction amount on line 12 of your 2023 Form 1040.

2023 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS

SINGLE $13,850  (65 or older/legally blind + $1850)

MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $13,850  (65 or older/legally blind + $1500)

MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $27,700  (65+/legally blind) )  + $1500 per spouse

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD  $20,800 (65 or older/blind)  + $1850)

[kella7074-gmail-]

Unfortunately TurboTax won't allow me to exclude him. Should I file an injured spouse?

[CatinaT1]

You can qualify for Head of Household if you:  

Were unmarried as of December 31 this year and  

Paid more than half the cost to run your home for the year(rent, mortgage, utilities, etc.) and  

You supported a qualifying person.  

If you are legally married as of December 31 and a child lives with you, you can qualify for Head of Household under a slightly different set of rules. Read more  

After you answer all the questions about yourself and your dependents at the beginning of your return, we'll let you know if your situation qualifies for Head of Household.  

You can also revisit these questions by selecting My Info (online) or Personal Info (software), then selecting Edit next to your name or your dependent's.