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QUESTION DETAIL
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For head of household filing status, do you have to claim a child as a dependent to qualify?
ANSWER
Expert Todd Alexander's Answer:
No, you have the be able to claim as a dependent a "qualifying person" who lived with you for more than half the year. See the table from IRS Publication which defines a qualifying person.
Caution. See the text of this chapter for the other requirements you must meet to claim head of household filing status.
| IF the person is your . . . | AND . . . | THEN that person is . . . | ||
| qualifying child (such as a son, daughter, or grandchild who lived with you more than half the year and meets certain other tests)2 | he or she is single | a qualifying person, whether or not you can claim an exemption for the person. | ||
| he or she is married and you can claim an exemption for him or her | a qualifying person. | |||
| he or she is married and you cannot claim an exemption for him or her | not a qualifying person.3 | |||
| qualifying relative4 who is your father or mother | you can claim an exemption for him or her5 | a qualifying person.6 | ||
| you cannot claim an exemption for him or her | not a qualifying person. | |||
| qualifying relative4 other than your father or mother (such as a grandparent, brother, or sister who meets certain tests) | he or she lived with you more than half the year, and he or she is related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you in chapter 3 and you can claim an exemption for him or her5 | a qualifying person. | ||
| he or she did not live with you more than half the year | not a qualifying person. | |||
| he or she is not related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who do not have to live with you in chapter 3 and is your qualifying relative only because he or she lived with you all year as a member of your household | not a qualifying person. | |||
| you cannot claim an exemption for him or her | not a qualifying person. |
| 1A person cannot qualify more than one taxpayer to use the head of household filing status for the year. | ||
| 2The term “qualifying child” is defined in chapter 3. Note. If you are a noncustodial parent, the term “qualifying child” for head of household filing status does not include a child who is your qualifying child for exemption purposes only because of the rules described under Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart under Qualifying Child in chapter 3. If you are the custodial parent and those rules apply, the child generally is your qualifying child for head of household filing status even though the child is not a qualifying child for whom you can claim an exemption. | ||
| 3This person is a qualifying person if the only reason you cannot claim the exemption is that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. | ||
| 4The term “ qualifying relative ” is defined in chapter 3. | ||
| 5If you can claim an exemption for a person only because of a multiple support agreement, that person is not a qualifying person. See Multiple Support Agreement in chapter 3. | ||
| 6See Special rule for parent for an additional requirement. |
