I am married but he is not legal so what do I do

[LeonardS]

If your husband does not have a social security number SSN or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number ITIN you will not be able to file a tax return with your husband.  You can file as single or if you qualify file as head of household.

To file as head of household, you must: Pay for more than half of the household expenses. Be considered unmarried for the tax year, and you must have a qualifying child or dependent.

A Qualifying Child is a child who meets the six IRS requirements to be a dependent for tax purposes.

* Relationship – must be the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or step-sibling, or a descendant of any of these.

* Age – on Dec 31st, must be under the age of 19, or the age of 24 if a full-time student, or regardless of age, be permanently and totally disabled.

* Residence – the child must have lived with the taxpayer for more than 6 months of the tax year. Exceptions are made the children of separated or divorced parents.  If a child was born or died during the year, they are considered to have lived with you the entire year.

* Support – refers to the child’s income, which must not have provided more than half of the child’s support for the tax year

* Joint Return – the child cannot file a joint return unless the return is filed only to claim a refund of withholdings

* Citizenship – the child must be a US citizen, US resident alien, and the child must have an SSN by the date the return is filed.

[xsd]

Thanks for the reply.  Can you please point out where the "Citizenship -- the child must be a US citizen, US resident alien, and the child must have an SSN by the date the return is filed" requirement comes from?  I don't see it listed in the 2019 Form 1040 instructions "Head of Household" on page 13 or "Setup 1 Do you have a qualifying child" on page 16.

[MinhT1]

@xsd

Please read this IRS definition of a qualifying child.

[xsd]

> Please read this IRS definition of a qualifying child.

Thanks, I had not seen FS-2005-7.  I think that on page 2, it says that in order to be a "dependent" the qualifying child must also pass a nationality test. And it says "Head of Household Filing Status – a qualifying child is determined without regard to the exception for children of divorced or separated parents. Also, a qualifying child who is married at the end of the year must meet the marital status and nationality tests for a dependent (above)."

But it does not have any nationality requirement for being a "qualifying child" for Head of Household purposes if the child is unmarried.

Do you read it differently?