ALL I’m wanting to know is: WHERE on this entire form is the option where I can select “Head of Household.” Yes: I legally qualify as HoH. Someone PLEASE help! It hasn’t asked me, and it’s trying to bring me to the review/send section. The difference here is like $3K!!! Help!!!
When you enter your filing status as Single or Married Filing Separately and have entered a qualifying person as a dependent on your tax return, the TurboTax program will ask you a series of questions to determine if you are eligible for Head of Household. If you are eligible the program will give you Head of Household filing status.
See this TurboTax for Head of Household - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualify-head-household-2021/L0NxUtVc2_US_en_US?uid=m72bvaqk
Am I Head of Household?
If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into My Info, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.
I selected “single” and have listed 2 dependents: both of which qualify as dependents (according to the TurboTax software) and I’m still seeing no option for Head of Household, and my filing status in the software is remaining as “Single.” Could this be a software glitch? Does it allow me to make this decision in the “Review and File” section at the end perhaps?
@theandrioli wrote:
I selected “single” and have listed 2 dependents: both of which qualify as dependents (according to the TurboTax software) and I’m still seeing no option for Head of Household, and my filing status in the software is remaining as “Single.” Could this be a software glitch? Does it allow me to make this decision in the “Review and File” section at the end perhaps?
The software is working properly for Head of Household. You need to verify that the dependents you entered in the My Info section of the program are qualifying persons.
See this TurboTax support FAQ for a qualifying person - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-filing-status/qualifying-person-head-household/L2TmgztNs_US_en_US?uid=m72cbqbi
Who are the dependents? Some dependents are not "qualified dependents" for HOH filing status. For instance, a BF or GF or the child of a BF or GF cannot be your qualifying dependent for HOH, even though you might be able to claim them for the $500 credit.
Did the laws change from last year? I filed as Head of Household last year, with my fiancé and her son (neither of whom work) and I had absolutely no problems with filing as HoH last year…
@theandrioli wrote:
Did the laws change from last year? I filed as Head of Household last year, with my fiancé and her son (neither of whom work) and I had absolutely no problems with filing as HoH last year…
No, the law did not change. Last year you probably entered the child as Your Child, instead of Another Person with the relationship as Other.
If you do not have a dependent that is a blood relative you cannot have Head of Household.
Did the laws change from last year? I filed as Head of Household last year, with my fiancé and her son (neither of whom work) and I had absolutely no problems with filing as HoH last year…
Checked my return from last year: neither the child nor my fiancé were filed as blood relatives. Allowed me to file as HoH regardless… I was made to understand that blood-relation wasn’t a factor: I’m under the assumption that the dependents only have to live with you and that you have to be paying more than 50% of their living expenses, which I am…
@theandrioli wrote:
Checked my return from last year: neither the child nor my fiancé were filed as blood relatives. Allowed me to file as HoH regardless… I was made to understand that blood-relation wasn’t a factor: I’m under the assumption that the dependents only have to live with you and that you have to be paying more than 50% of their living expenses, which I am…
Then I cannot conjecture why you received Head of Household on your 2023 tax return.
Go to this IRS website for publication 501 Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information see Table 4 on page 10 for Qualifying Person - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page=10
According to your provided reference:
1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count) in 2017
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.
According to these stipulations: although they aren’t blood-related to me, they do indeed meet the requirements of 2B…
Not finding anything that says a blood-relation is an absolute requirement…
@theandrioli From Table 4 -
your relative isn't related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don't have to live with you, later, and is your qualifying relative only because your relative lived with you all year as a member of your household
THEN that person is . . .not a qualifying person
Relatives who don't have to live with you on page 18 -
Relatives who don't have to live with you. A person related to you in any of the following ways doesn't have to live with you all year as a member of your household to meet this test.
• Your child, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)
• Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
• Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
• Your stepfather or stepmother.
• A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
• A son or daughter of your half brother or half sister.
• A brother or sister of your father or mother.
• Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law
Both of my dependents live with me… is that what’s preventing me from filing as HoH? I’m not sure I understand: is the fact that he lives with me but is NOT my biological child the thing that is preventing HoH? Please clarify.
PS: Also, why is TurboTax telling me he qualifies as a dependent if this is the case? I re-checked my form, and the accuracy/honesty is at 100%…
Yes they can be your dependents but neither one can qualify you for Head of Household . Has to be actually related to you like your own child. If you filed as Head of Household last year you filed wrong and should amend 2023.
Ok, so then my question becomes: why was I ALLOWED to file as HoH last year? The ONLY thing different on my W-2 from last year to this year, is a SLIGHTLY higher income for the year… literally EVERYTHING else is the same… Not only that, but the software actually LED ME INTO filing as HoH last year… and this year I can’t even find the option. I won’t be amending a single thing: at this point, if there was a mistake on last year’s return, then I’d say it’s their fault more than mine: the only thing I did was answer the questions they asked. I’m just trying to find the one key difference between my filing last year and this year that is causing this… and I can’t find the difference that makes the difference to save my own life…
As Don posted above……
Last year you probably entered the child as Your Child, instead of Another Person with the relationship as Other.
And as I re-iterate: having taken another look at my return for 2023 (this being the third time now) I did NOT file him as being my child. Not even accidentally. Whatever is causing this problem, that isn’t it.
That wouldn’t show on your tax return. Is. Head of Household checked at the top for filing status? Then look at Dependents, which box is checked on the far right for (4)?
And have you seen this article? It might explain it more clearly.
Who is a qualifying person for Head of Household
Mine was the same it doesn’t give u the option anymore and it changes ur refund tremendously
@Shawand wrote:
Mine was the same it doesn’t give u the option anymore and it changes ur refund tremendously
You will get the option if you enter a qualifying person as a dependent and you selected your Filing Status as either Single or Married Filing Separately.