I have TT Premier & cannot find an answer to: can my partner & I change Head of Household tax status if our contributions to our child changes from one year to the next?

[Anita01 · Accepted solution]

Head of Household is not all about contributions to your child.  The head of household is the one who pays more than half the costs of providing the household, for the full year like rent, utilities, erc., and that house hold has to be where the dependent child lives for more than half the year

[Curious1]

This response did not answer my question. I'm fully aware of the criteria that the Head of Household must provide over 50% of the total cost as referenced above.
My question is: Can that Head of Household designation change from year to year from one partner to the other, i.e. if one partner pays more than the 50% one year, and then the other partner pays more than the 50% of the total child support the next year, i.e. can the Head of Household be one of the partners one year and then the other partner be the Head of Household the next, or a different year?

[SweetieJean]

Yes,

[Curious1]

Thank you for answering, but is there any more to understand in  terms of any other criteria that must be met? Are there any other limitations, such as how long this can be done?
Thank you for your help.
Al

[Curious1]

I really didn't think this was such a difficult question.

[Anita01]

It's difficult because you are mixing child support with maintenance of the household where the child lives and they are two separate things.  Support for the child consists of transportation  clothing, spending money, personal grooming, medical bills, etc.  Those amounts have nothing to do with Head of Houselhold,  which is the person who pays more than half the bills for maintaining the household, consisting of household related expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, heating, electric,phone, cable, etc.  They're two different types of expenses and were the IRS to audit you, they would want to see the correct types of bill receipts.  As long as you understand that supporting the child and directly providing for the household are two separate things, yes, you can shift back and forth.  It's just that making that shift involves the TYPE of bills being paid, not just the amount.

[Anita01]

Also, be aware that if you and your partner are unmarried parents living with a child of both of you, whoever claims the child as the basis for Head of Household status must also be the one claiming the child as a dependent and claiming all other child-related credits.

[Curious1]

That that was the answer I was looking for. Great detail! I think I may have misled you when I stated "child Support" as I really did mean the entire scope of support, including all the maintenance support, habitat support, educational support, health care, i.e. the whole enchilada.
Thank you for your reaponse.

[Anita01]

Welcome, I just wanted to make sure you'd have appropriate types of receipts for whomever claimed HOH.