My daughter is age 23, full time student, lived with me whole year, but made over $10k income. I believe this criteria qualifies her as a "qualifying child" for me to file as Head of Household status. However.... I do NOT want to claim her as my dependent on my return. She will file her own tax return and claim her own income. So is it possible to claim Head of Household WITHOUT claiming her as a dependent, and if so, how?
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No. You must be able to claim as a dependent. If you can claim her, even if you do not, then she is not allowed to claim herself.
While nobody can be compelled to claim a dependent, a dependent cannot claim them self if they can be claimed by another tax payer - the tax law does not allow that.
That is why there are two questions in the interview - *can* you be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer, and *were* you (or will you) actually be claimed by that taxpayer?
In both cases the dependent will not get their own $4,050 personal exemption. If the answer to the second question is "yes" then the taxpayer claiming the dependent gets it, if the answer is "no" the exemption is lost, but the dependent is then allowed to claim certain educational credits that cannot be claimed by a dependent if they are actually claimed.
See IRS Pub 17 Personal Exemptions - Your Own Exemption
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2016_publink1000170848
You can take one exemption for yourself unless you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. If another taxpayer is entitled to claim you as a dependent, you can’t take an exemption for yourself even if the other taxpayer doesn't actually claim you as a dependent.
No. You must be able to claim as a dependent. If you can claim her, even if you do not, then she is not allowed to claim herself.
While nobody can be compelled to claim a dependent, a dependent cannot claim them self if they can be claimed by another tax payer - the tax law does not allow that.
That is why there are two questions in the interview - *can* you be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer, and *were* you (or will you) actually be claimed by that taxpayer?
In both cases the dependent will not get their own $4,050 personal exemption. If the answer to the second question is "yes" then the taxpayer claiming the dependent gets it, if the answer is "no" the exemption is lost, but the dependent is then allowed to claim certain educational credits that cannot be claimed by a dependent if they are actually claimed.
See IRS Pub 17 Personal Exemptions - Your Own Exemption
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2016_publink1000170848
You can take one exemption for yourself unless you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. If another taxpayer is entitled to claim you as a dependent, you can’t take an exemption for yourself even if the other taxpayer doesn't actually claim you as a dependent.
Per the IRS you can claim Head of Household with a Qualifying Child...
can I claim my 21 yr old son as a dependent he worked and earned 18000.00 or does he file seperate
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