Hello, I lived separate from my husband the entire year of 2015 and filed Head of Household due to our physical separation and my claiming my child. Is this wrong

[katie-hash]

I filed Head of Household due to the irs considering me unmarried since we lived separately, had separate leases for physical locations, had never once lived together, and I was able to claim the exemption of my child and paid for all expenses myself. Now my university is saying I filed incorrectly and that our physical separation was “considered temporary” despite us having never lived together and having legally binding leases that kept us separate. Is this correct of them or am I correct? 

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

You filed correctly as far as the IRS is concerned.

What you are now facing is the School's financial aid office rules. They are saying only that you can't claim to be unmarried and head of household when determining your eligibility for aid.

[katie-hash]

Actually they’re telling me that it was considered a temporary absence, not that their guidelines weren’t met. Which is why I posted this question. Thank you for your answer.

[TaxGuyBill]

Is it a "temporary absence", or are you permanently apart?  That is a fact-and-circumstances question, so you need to analyze what the answer is.  If you are permanently apart, why does the school think it is temporary?
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