Filing Requirements/Status/Dependents/Exemptions

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Frequently Asked Tax Questions

Filing Requirements/Status/Dependents/Exemptions - Filing Status

Rev. date: 1/2010

If I moved out of my house on July 10, but was not divorced at the end of the year, can I file as head of household and take the earned income credit if I have a minor child? Can I also claim child care expenses?

Child Care
Child Care Credit
Child Care Expenses
Child and Dependent
Child and Dependent Care Credit
Child and Dependent Care Expenses
Dependent Care Expenses
Divorced or Separated Spouses/Parents
Earned Income Credit
Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit
Filing Status
Head of Household

You do not qualify for the head of household filing status because you and your spouse have not lived apart for the last 6 months of the taxable year and are not considered unmarried.

Your filing status for the year will either be married filing separately, or married filing jointly.
If it is married filing separately, you will not qualify for the Earned Income Credit and cannot claim a credit based on child care expenses.
If you file a joint return with your spouse, you may be eligible to claim these credits.
See Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, and Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

Rev. date: 1/2010

For head of household filing status, do you have to claim a child as a dependent to qualify?

Child and Dependent
Dependent
Exemption for Dependent
Exemption/Support Issues
Filing Status
Head of Household

In certain circumstances, you do not need to claim the child as a dependent to qualify for head of household filing status, such as when the qualifying child is unmarried and is your child, grandchild, stepchild, or adopted child.

Rev. date: 1/2010

I am divorced with one dependent child. This year my ex-spouse will claim the child as an exemption. Does this mean I cannot qualify as head of household?

Child and Dependent
Divorced or Separated Spouses/Parents
Ex-spouse
Exemption
Exemption for Dependent
Exemption/Support Issues
Filing Status
Head of Household

You can file as head of household even though you do not claim your unmarried dependent child as an exemption if you meet all of the following requirements:

You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year.
You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
A qualifying person must live with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences such as school).

Rev. date: 1/2010

If the parents of a year old child never married but live together with the child for the tax year, and both contribute to the cost of maintaining the household for the child and themselves, may they both file as head of household?

Child Support
Exemption/Support Issues
Filing Status
Filing Status, Single
Head of Household
Living Together Tax Issues
Parents never married
Separate Return

Only one taxpayer may claim the child as a qualifying child for purposes of filing as head of household.

A taxpayer filing as head of household must furnish over half the cost of maintaining the household. Therefore, both parents may not file as head of household.


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