Can 2 People File HoH for the SAME Address?
- 8 Replies
I need help!! I did my taxes and I think I screwed up afterall.
I lived with my SO's Father majority of last year. I filed as HoH (after thinking about it, I realized I was wrong!!) and was wondering if I possibly am messing up my SO's father's tax return by doing this? I cant really find a clear answer about this.
Do I need to amend my return? Or just leave it? Will they let my SO's father file HoH too? Or will they block him from doing it because I already did?
This seemingly simple question has a very complex answer. In order to answer the question, it's important to keep in mind the criteria to be eligible for head of household status:
- The taxpayer must be unmarried,
- The taxpayer must be able to claim as a dependent a closely related person,
- That closely related person must actually reside at the same residence as the taxpayer for more than half the year, and
- The taxpayer must pay for more than half the cost of maintaining the residence.
When two (or more) taxpayers share the same address, the question sometimes arises whether the address itself constitutes one household, or whether each family living at that address constitutes its own separate household.
The Internal Revenue Service analyzes the situation based on all the facts and circumstances. The IRS's general thinking is outlined in memorandum from the Chief Counsel's office (SCA 1998-041, pdf 9 pages). In their advice, the IRS outlines their thinking over whether two persons sharing the same residence can each qualify as head of household.
Thanks. I also found you can do this if you dont share a bedroom/food/etc with the other person.
Im just worried he will be blocked from filing, but it sounds like they wont. If anything we may get audited? I hate taxes.
Quoting CuriousArentYa:
This seemingly simple question has a very complex answer. In order to answer the question, it's important to keep in mind the criteria to be eligible for head of household status:
- The taxpayer must be unmarried,
- The taxpayer must be able to claim as a dependent a closely related person,
- That closely related person must actually reside at the same residence as the taxpayer for more than half the year, and
- The taxpayer must pay for more than half the cost of maintaining the residence.
When two (or more) taxpayers share the same address, the question sometimes arises whether the address itself constitutes one household, or whether each family living at that address constitutes its own separate household.
The Internal Revenue Service analyzes the situation based on all the facts and circumstances. The IRS's general thinking is outlined in memorandum from the Chief Counsel's office (SCA 1998-041, pdf 9 pages). In their advice, the IRS outlines their thinking over whether two persons sharing the same residence can each qualify as head of household.
That's the ugliest name everrrr!!!