Hi, my 39 yearold daughter who works, and my 12 year old granddaughter live with me the past year. Can i claim head of household on one or both of them?

[toots522]

Im single, 65 years old. Last ocober, 2016, my 39 yr old daughter, who worked and made aprox 15, 000 gross,  and 12 year old granddaughter moved in with me, and still live w me.  I provided for them the past year, receive no rent etc. Can/ should i claim head of household on my taxes this year? Can i claim both or just granddaughter or can i claim daughter, too? Not sure what to do.

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

You cannot claim your daughter as a dependent since her income is $4,050 or more.  Your granddaughter is the Qualifying Child of your daughter so she would claim her daughter on her tax return as a dependent.  Since you would be unable to claim either your daughter or granddaughter as dependents you would not be able to file as Head of Household.  If you are not married you will need to file as Single.

[Hal_Al]

There's one possible, but unlikely, exception. If your income is higher than your daughter's, you may claim your grandchild as a dependent. If you do, you may also claim Head of Household.

It is optional  (your daughter's option, not yours) whether you claim the grandchild or she does. So, it may be worthwhile to prepare returns both ways to see which way the family comes out best. This tool may be helpful:  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/?s=1">https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-to...>