Maintaining Home in 2024

[MaxRLC]

TurboTax asks the question, "Did you maintain your home in 2024?"

Individual owns a home

Mortgage is in the name of the same individual 

The same individual has a Fiance resides in the home 

Fiance pays rent to this individual an amount which is identical to the individual's mortgage payment on a monthly basis

Both pay household expenses equally - so the answer to the question is Yes?  and  No?

The noted individual does NOT have a business in the home

What is the implication if the Fiance (who is not the home owner) pays, for example 60% of the houshold expenses and the individual homeowner pays 40%?   Should the Fiance answer that he maintains a home even if he is not the homeowner?

Or vice versa - -- 

What if it is determined that the individual maintains the home and satisfies more than 50% of the household expenses (but again, does NOT have a business in the home) - what is the implication to the individual?  what is the implication to the Fiance when he files his own tax return (Single)?

Help!

Thank you.

[xmasbaby0]

If you are trying to file as Head of Household, you must have a qualifying dependent.   Do you have a child to claim as a dependent?  Your BF or GF cannot be your qualified dependent for HOH filing status.   What are you trying to do?

[MaxRLC]

Individual has a dependent child and is eligible to file HOH

Calculation is yet to be completed, but if the "individual" has a dependent child but is responsible for any amount less than 50% of the household (i.e., the BF Fiance is satisfying the majority of expenses - BF Fiance files separate and does NOT have dependent child) it appears the individual who have to file as "single" even though the individual has a dependent child.   

It appears, as you noted, that the issue is can the individual file as HOH.

Filing HOH would be available if the individual has a dependent child and maintains the home (and that could be 51% of the household expenses.

Yes?

[MaxRLC]

*  Not "could" be - but must be greater than 50% of the household expenses.

Summary - to file HOH, individual must have:

*  dependent child

*  maintain his or her home (i.e., satisfy greater than 50% of household expenses)

Fiance BF, has to file "single, because he does not have a dependent child.  Even if he was satisfying 90% of

the household expenses, he does not have a dependent child.  In that case, both would be required to file Single - yes?

[xmasbaby0]

If they pay even 51%--that is over half---and with a qualifying dependent should be able to file as HOH.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household...

• 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.

If you are a non-married couple who live together with your child, then only one of you can claim the child(ren) and the one not claiming the child does not enter anything at all on their tax return about the child.   The “sharing” of child-related credits you may have heard about is only possible between divorced or never married parents who live apart and share custody and who have a written agreement to share the credits.    The child’s SSN can only be entered on one tax return.   Any other return with the child’s SSN on it will be rejected.   If you are a family, then work out how to share the refund between yourselves.