Turbotax 2020 head of household error

[Zed5150]

The TurboTax 2020 "you and your family" interview has changed from TT19 and will no longer allow claiming head of household status unless a dependent is entered. This is incorrect in my scenario.

I have a child > 18 and < 24 who is a full time student and has spent more than half of the year with me. I have a divorce decree that allows my ex to claim them as a dependent and allows me to claim head of household. In 2019, TurboTax step-by-step determined the head of household status correctly while not requiring my child to be shown as a dependent on the 1040. However, TT20 either forces the child to be shown as a dependent for the head of household filing status or forces single, if the child is not a dependent. TurboTax's own help information in the link below is clear that "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. For divorced or separated parents, if the child lived in your home for more than half of the year, you may file as head of household, even if the divorce or separation agreement gives the other parent the right to claim the child as a dependent."

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/guide-to-filing-taxes-as-head-of-household/L4Nx6DYu9

[WendyN2]

No, the tax program has not made any changes to the requirements and it still allows you to file HOH in your situation. Make sure that you have entered/answered correctly on every screen with respect to household costs, etc., and should you enter everything accordingly you do wind up being able to file HOH. Try this - start from the beginning - no need to delete - just click on "personal information" then instead of entering "step by step" for this information, click on "forms" at the top right of the screen and enter all of this information accordingly on the forms. There, you will see what I think you are referring to as the change - where here you will see the option to file HOH with a "qualifying child" who is not your dependent for the current tax year you are filling out. See if that then gives you the end result you should be getting and are expecting. It did for me when I just ran a "test" so I certainly would think it should also work for you.

[Zed5150]

It's apparently been fixed in the latest update that I received today.  It was not working in the version I downloaded early December. I could reinstall the old version and supply screen images, but won't take the time.

Thanks for the response.

[nora1wheeler]

I am getting the same error as the guy above.  I went to the forms, as noted, and when I try to file as Head of Household, if I don't enter that I provided more than 1/2 the support for the year, it changes HOH to Single.  If I do enter that I provided 1/2 of the support, it changes my son to Dependent.  There is  no option to file HOH WITHOUT having the dependent.  My taxes show and error and have been rejected so I need this corrected. 

I tried the override and that gives me an error also.  Why have the option if it is going to give an error?

[nora1wheeler]

I have just tried to use the override filing status and submit my returns and it won't let me.  It just asks me to change it.  This is ridiculous.  I need to file my taxes.

[KathrynG3]

It is an error for the same child to be claimed on two returns in the same year.

Even though 50% of the support was not provided, but the child lived with you, in the circumstance of a divorce, you may be allowed to file Head of Household if you paid for more than 50% of the home maintenance costs. See Filing Status FAQ from the IRS: May I still qualify as head of household?

However, the other parent cannot also claim the child as a dependent. The parent providing more than 50% of the financial support must provide  IRS Form 8332. 

See: 

Guide to Filing Taxes as Head of Household

What Happens When Both Parents Claim a Child on a Tax Return?

@Zed5150

@nora1wheeler

[Anonymous]

The issue still persists regarding filing legitimately as Head of Household in some cases. I used TurboTax to file as HoH on March 4, 2022 and while my IRS account shows it as received, I haven't received my refund and the IRS "Where's My Refund" app says it's still in process. The problem arises in part because I'm overseas and I support (by 80% or more) my noncitizen grandchild who lives in my home. The child of course has no Social Security number so I have to file on paper. I must have used a workaround last year, perhaps by revising the PDF version prepared by TT with my own copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro. The only way I have been able to get the 2022 version of TT to allow me to claim HoH is to give the kid a temporary SS# ([removed]) which I can revise to "NRA" using Acrobat, and also remove any claim to dependent status as he's neither a U.S. citizen nor living in Canada or Mexico. I'm stuck with TT this year because I sold a depreciated vacation property and it would be too complicated to transfer all that data to another firm's product. But I could conceive of further complications that could force me to copy most of the TT printout onto IRS forms. (As to the rule on HoH for noncitizen grandchildren (and certain others) see Pub. 501, Table 4:

"IF the person is your . . .
"qualifying child (such as a son, daughter, or grandchild who lived with you more than half the year and meets certain other tests) 2"
AND the child is single
THEN that person is . . .
a qualifying person, whether or not the child meets the Citizen or Resident Test."

[CatinaT1]

This is a complicated situation with many variables. You are not eligible to claim Head of Household and this is likely why your 2021 return is still processing at the IRS. I will try to explain it the best I can. 

• To qualify for Head of Household, you have to have a qualifying person as a dependent. The only case you can claim Head of Household without a qualifying dependent is under the Special Rule for Divorced and Separated Parents.

• Your grandson does not qualify as a dependent based on the Citizen or Resident Test which says: You generally can't claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, a U.S. resident alien, a U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

• In Table 4  of Pub 501, the first column states - If the person is your: qualifying child (such as a son, daughter, or grandchild who lived with you more than half the year and meets certain other tests), with a footnote. This footnote is important and states: The term “qualifying child” is defined under Dependents, later. Note: If you are a noncustodial parent, the term “qualifying child” for head of household filing status doesn't include a child who is your qualifying child only because of the rules described under Children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) under Qualifying Child, later. If you are the custodial parent and those rules apply, the child is generally your qualifying child for head of household filing status even though the child isn't a qualifying child you can claim as a dependent.

• If you look at the qualifying child requirements under dependents on page 12 of Pub 501, it might appear he would qualify, there are exceptions listed on page 11 that read:  Even if you have a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you can claim that person as a dependent only if these three tests are met. 1. Dependent taxpayer test. 2. Joint return test. 3. Citizen or resident test.

• Based on Table 4, you must stop in column one because your person is not a qualifying child.

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for your effort at help but as a retired international (ie cross-border) tax lawyer I have read the statute, checked RIA, and analyzed the IRS non-binding public advice.

We are not talking about a dependent. Kiddo is NRA and doesn’t live in US, Mexico or Canada. That affects dependent status not the right of the grandparent (etc) housing and supporting him/her to claim HoH status. I’ve been in Tax Court before. IRS settles “on the courthouse steps” when they’re wrong. Or Through CDP these days. The dependency issue is a red herring. Kiddo’s mom lives with me and is a student.

It is equally likely that my $4k is held up by the tax treaty provision (art 18-19) that makes my federal pension taxable solely by the IRS and my Social Security solely by HMRC. The Saving Clause doesn’t change that.

My guess is that in the fullness of time the IRS will ask for proof of common residency and proof of more than 50% support. Those are issues of fact and proofs could have been supplied with the 1040. I will do that for 2022. Unfortunately as kiddo has no SSN my return has to be paper-filed.