TurboTax will not allow Head of Household without dependent

[jeangrup]

I have an adult child with a disability. I cannot claim him as a dependent as he claims himself, but I have confirmed (after going through all of the IRS questions and consulting with a CPA) that I can use him to claim head of household. The problem is with Turbo Tax. It will not let me claim head of household without adding my son as a dependent. I've gone through all the questions over and over again, and there's no way around it. After I answer all the questions, and I know they are correct, it automatically adds my son as a dependent. When I remove him as a dependent, it takes away the head of household status. It looks like I am going to have to manually fill out and mail my return in. I tried calling TurboTax and was on hold for over 30 minutes, almost to the stated 50 minute wait time, and got disconnected.

[fanfare]

the problem is not with turbotax.

Did your son e-File already. ?

if he did you could have him file an amended return.

if your take him as a dependent he doesn't get 1200 stimulus payment and you don't get 500 if he is over 17.

if you leave it as is the net benefit for you two combined could be the same or close to the same.

[xmasbaby0]

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your filing status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.

[jeangrup]

Thank you for your response. Because he is disabled there are slightly different rules. The IRS states, " If you don’t have a qualifying child, you can’t claim the child tax credit; but you may be able to claim the credit for
other dependents for that child." Upon filling out the worksheet "Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents," I will get the $500 for him under that criteria.  Also, the stimulus payment is in 2020, which doesn't apply to 2019 taxes.

[jeangrup]

@xmasbaby0 - Thank you. However, the issue is that he is NOT my dependent. He is my qualifier for HOH. Right at the top of the 1040 form there is a place to put the name of the person that qualifies you for HOH instead of putting a name under the dependents section. Turbo Tax is not allowing or recognizing this. If I do it the way Tubo Tax has it set up, with them putting my son as a dependent, my return gets rejected because my son already claimed himself on his taxes. 

[Imadad2]

Hi jeangrup. Like you, I researched the issue and concluded that HOH was possible without a dependent. A tax professional filing my taxes was able to do it. Did you ever get an answer to your question regarding TurboTax allowing you to do it?

[ToddL99]

A "qualifying person" for Head of Household still must qualify as a dependent - if they are filing their own tax return (i.e. claiming themselves), then they will not be a "qualifying person" for Head of Household purposes.

Your return will get rejected because that person's SSN has already been used to file their "own" return.

The conditions for a "qualifying person" are stricter than those for claiming a dependent; for example, you might be able to claim a roommate as your dependent, but never as a qualifying person for Head of Household status.

In order for the TurboTax program to determine if a you qualify for Head of Household, you have to enter that person as a dependent on your return.  After you answer all the questions about yourself and your dependents at the beginning of your return, we'll let you know if your situation qualifies for Head of Household.

@Imadad2

[Imadad2]

Hi ToddL99. Thank you for the super prompt response! Your statement below is consistent with my understanding up until recently. My tax preparer was able to set my Filing Status as Head of Household on my 2019 return without putting my son as a dependent (instead, my son was listed at the top of Form 1040 where it says, "If you checked the HOH or QW box, enter the child's name if the qualifying person is a child but not your dependent."). It looks like the tax preparer used a professional version of TurboTax to prepare the form. After noticing that he was able to set HOH without dependents, I did some looking, and a number of sources indicate it is allowed. Even the quote above from Form 1040 seems to imply you can be HOH without a dependent. Since I'm not an expert, I may be misinterpreting what I'm finding, but I'd like to see what others think as well. Again, thank you for the rapid feedback!

[ToddL99]

There may be some tax preparation software that allows you to bypass the "dependent" interview/filter for claiming head of household, but you will still have to exceed the "dependent" qualifications AND report the qualifying person's SSN on your tax return.

If that person's SSN has already been used on another return (claiming themselves or claimed by another), your e-filed HOH return will get rejected.

You can mail your HOH return, but should expect to hear from the IRS later in the year, asking for an explanation.

[Imadad2]

Hi ToddL99. Here's the most reliable reference I can find that seems to support HOH with claiming a dependent: "If the child who qualifies you for this filing status isn't claimed as your dependent in the Dependents section of Form 1040 or 1040-SR, enter the child's name in the entry space at the bottom of the Filing Status section." This is from IRS Publication 501 (2020), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. The URL is https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501#en_US_2020_publink[phone number removed]

[Imadad2]

Hey ToddL99. Here's another reference I found from TurboTax's site: "In some cases, you may be eligible to file as head of household even if you are unable to claim your child as a dependent." Please see https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/guide-to-filing-taxes-as-head-of-household/L4Nx6DYu9 und... the section labeled Qualifying child.

[Imadad2]

If this is allowed by tax law, then here's a way that seems to work in TurboTax. Under View, Forms, Info Wks, Federal filing status, check item 4, Head of household. Once checked, fill in the name and Social Security Number of the person you support. If you fill the information in prior to checking the Head of household box, it looks like the Child’s first name, MI, Last Name, Suff, and Child’s social security number fields clear when you click away from the five fields. If you try it, please let me know if this works for you. If you're familiar with the tax laws, please let me know if you think it is supported by the tax rules. Thank you!

[BrockmanBobby]

I have the same problem.  Turbo won't allow me to claim Head of Household unless I claim my grand daughter as my dependent.  I paid more than half the support of maintaining a home.  But here parents claim the grand child.  This is a problem with Turbo Tax.  I meet all of the IRS requirements.

[xmasbaby0]

@BrockmanBobby Sorry---you misunderstood the criteria for filing as Head of Household.  You cannot file as HOH unless you have a qualifying dependent.   If her parents are claiming your grandchild then you cannot claim her on your tax return.   She cannot be claimed on two different tax returns.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-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.

[xmasbaby0]

@BrockmanBobby 

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/what-is-my-filing-status