Husband and I divorced in March 2017 but he continued to live with me and was unemployed the entire year, Do I file as single? Can I claim him as a dependent?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

If you were divorced at the end of 2017, then you have to file as single or Head of Household IF you also had children you were supporting.  Ex-spouse does not count as a qualified dependent for HOH.

"He was unemployed"  Did he receive unemployment compensation?  Any other income at all?  Was he there for the ENTIRE year of 2017?

[eedzone]

he did not receive unemployment and yes was here the ENTIRE year and is still here.  He also did not get any health ins after he was removed from my work plan

[xmasbaby0]

Yikes....if you claim him you are held responsible for his health care.  All you get for claiming him is the $4050 exemption which lowers the amount  of income you are taxed on.

[eedzone]

Ugh, do you know what the penalty is for not having ins? I've never had that issue before.  Also there are no children so I will be filing single.

[xmasbaby0]

I do not knowhow much it is for 2017 but this gentleman will most likely be able to help.  @TaxGuyBill Can you advise?

[eedzone]

thank you, it was very nice of you to take time to help me.

[xmasbaby0]

You are welcome.  TaxGuyBill is quite knowledgeable and will no doubt respond when he sees the request.

[TaxGuyBill]

The MINIMUM full year penalty for not having health insurance is $695, but it is also based on income, so it could be higher.  If it was only part of year, the penalty is prorated.  For example, the minimum penalty for 9 months would about $521.

So if you actually claim him as a dependent, you will owe that penalty.  However, claiming him as a dependent MIGHT save you more than that, depending on what your income is.  If you were in the 25% tax bracket, claiming him as a dependent would likely save about $1000, plus State taxes.


If the penalty is higher than what you would save, you *MIGHT* be able to avoid the penalty by not claiming him.  This falls into a "gray area", but my opinion is that you would avoid the penalty if you did not actually claim him.  However, I hope the tax savings of claiming him will be larger than the penalty, so hopefully you won't need to deal with that.

As a side note, he may qualify for free health insurance through Medicaid.  However, that depends on which State he lives in.

[eedzone]

thank you, this information is very helpful.

[xmasbaby0]

Thanks @TaxGuyBill !  I knew you would know!