Question about Head of Household and Claiming a parent as dependent

[user15854]

Hello,

I'm 33y and I was married till November 2024 when I got divorced, my widowed mother recently became a permanent resident and relocated from home country (Lebanon) to the U.S in September of 2024 and started living with me.

I had no children from my marriage and I used to support my mom overseas since she does not work ( I was sending her monthly payments via MoneyGram) and now she has been living with me since September 10th 2024 and I support her 100%, she does not have any income. Obviously, I pay all the expenses of the home where we live.

For the tax year 2024 when I file my taxes, can I claim head of household and use my mother as a dependent?

I am afraid since she only lived in the U.S for 3 months only in 2024 this might be an issue even though I was 100% supporting all her expenses whether she's living here or abroad.

Thank you for your help.

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

The only issue that may prevent you from claiming her as your dependent is her status in this country under the Qualifying Relative rules.

IRS rules page 11 - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=11

Citizen or Resident Test
You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $5,050 (social security does not count) in 2024
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse

TurboTax support FAQ for Head of Household - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household...

[user15854]

Thank you for your answer. She became a permanent resident on September 10th 2024 when she entered the country with her green card. So would that clear that issue?

[DoninGA]

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@user15854 wrote:

Thank you for your answer. She became a permanent resident on September 10th 2024 when she entered the country with her green card. So would that clear that issue?

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Yes, that clears the issue.  You should have no problem claiming her as your dependent and being eligible for Head of Household filing status.

[user15854]

This is great! Thank you