How to document "Food" category to establish "Head of Household" filing status

[jmd1984]

Hi everyone,

I need to document food, gas, and other expenses in my household; and, I was told that bank statements were acceptable. Could someone confirm that this is true? 

Second, and more importantly, am I allowed to redact other information on the bank statements? Essentially, I only want to send the IRS what they need (note: they have not requested bank statements as part of this audit process, just receipts and proof for Head of Household). 

Will redacting my bank statements raise a red flag? I'm not concerned about them looking at balances since I do not have any undisclosed income. It's more of a privacy thing.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

there should be a phone number on the notice, call.     bank statements may or may not be adequate - ask.  what the IRS really prefers are the actually receipts.     

say you buy food at XYZ and pay by check.  you get a receipt but toss it.  how is the IRS supposed to know that the payment  didn't include non-food items (like animal food).      

[jmd1984]

I had a similar concern. Fortunately, food expense is such a small % of the overall total expense I think I should be OK. I just wanted to be thorough -- the threshold to be Head of Household is 50% of total expenses and everything aside from food I have documented w/ billing statements, receipts, etc.