Filing status

[NG0114]

I am unmarried, living with my boyfriend. Together we have one child. I have two other children that live with us the entire year and he has two other children who live with us half the time. I am claiming the child we have together. What filing status should we choose if all above applies and we split everything?

[Fowlkeslm]

Turbotax does a great job recommending the correct filing staus, but as long as you split expenses and nobody tries to claim a child that will be claimed by the other parent, single head of household will probably be your best option to maximize your return.

[LeonardS]

There are two filing statuses that apply to your situation;  filing as single or filing as head of household.  Because you are not married you can not file as married filing jointly.

One of the qualifications, among others, to file as head of household is that you pay over half of the household expenses.  As the two of you live in the same house only one of you can claim paying more than half of the expenses. 

Each of you will have to file your own tax returns.  TurboTax will determine the best filing status for each of you based upon the information that you provide to TurboTax.

The link Guide to Filing Taxes as Head of Household has information that you may find useful.

[NG0114]

I will claim my children as dependents but how should he claim? He is claiming one and his ex is claiming their other child. Does he need to list the child he isn't claiming? Or, can that be left off?

[TomD8]

<<how should he claim? He is claiming one and his ex is claiming their other child.>>

The right to claim a child belongs to the custodial parent, which the IRS defines as the parent with whom the child spent more than half the year.  Since there are 365 days in the year, the split cannot be half and half.

The custodial parent may relinquish their right to claim a child to the non-custodial parent by providing them with a completed and signed Form 8332, which the non-custodial parent must then submit with their tax return.  Here's a link to that form:  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf

[AmyC]

It is possible for you to both claim head of household provided you both paid over half of your own household. It is also tricky. You have must two different households living in one house and it is easy for them to blur together. Picture what a family looks like. Imagine two neighbors. How does your family live, like two different families or is it one big happy family really. One of the qualifying questions will ask about others that lived in the house with you.  In addition, one of you may have other expenses that go into keeping up a home that the other doesn't have. Your situation could be complicated.

A quick and easy solution is to visit the IRS interactive tools for filing status and dependents to determine who should claim what status and which children. You should each go through the filing status tool carefully.

For complete information on keeping up a home, see Pub. 501 or go to the upkeep worksheet on page 8. 

[NG0114]

If they have two children amd are each only claiming one, do they even need to list the child they're not claiming?

[AmyC]

If there are two children and you each claim one, there is no need to list the other child on the return. It looks like the other posts answered your original questions. Just answer carefully!

@NG0114