quaifying person for considered unmarried

[morrisliberty]

Hello,

Who is a qualifying person for a Married person to be considered unmarried for qualifying as head of household?

Taxpayer's home was the main home of his/her child, stepchild or eligible foster child. These are the only persons who can qualify the taxpayer for considered unmarried head of household.

I know a qualifying child such as your child, stepchild, or eligible foster child who lives with you for more than half of the year and meets certain other tests and he or she is single and you are qualified to claim the exemption is a qualifying person .


Is a qualifying relative who is your child , stepchild or eligible foster child who lives with you for more than half of the year and meets certain other tests and he or she is single and your qualified to claim the exemption is this person a qualifying person?


Is a qualifying relative who is your child , stepchild, or eligible foster child and he or she is single and you can claim the exemption but do not because the noncustodial parent can claim the exemption under the rules of children of divorced and separated parents is this person a qualifying person?


Is a qualifying relative who is your child , stepchild , or eligilible foster child and he/she is married and you can claim his/her exemption is this person a qualifying person?

[mwcpa]

I hope I understand the questions correctly...all answers assume you are married but meet all of the requirements related to not sharing a home with your spouse and that no one else in the same household claims head of household status.

1. "Is a qualifying relative who is your child , stepchild or eligible foster child who lives with you for more than half of the year and meets certain other tests and he or she is single and your qualified to claim the exemption is this person a qualifying person?"

so, your unmarried child lives with you 6 months or more and meets the other tests, yes you qualify for head of household status.

2. "Is a qualifying relative who is your child , stepchild, or eligible foster child and he or she is single and you can claim the exemption but do not because the noncustodial parent can claim the exemption under the rules of children of divorced and separated parents is this person a qualifying person?"

So, same facts as in 1, but your former spouse is entitled to claim the dependency exemption then yes, you may claim head of household status.

3. "Is a qualifying relative who is your child , stepchild , or eligilible foster child and he/she is married and you can claim his/her exemption is this person a qualifying person? "

Same facts as 1, but the child is married.... assuming you can claim an exemption for the child, then yes, you meet head of household status.

have you tried IRS publication 501? these questions are specifically addressed there....look at table 4.... I tried to cut and paste it but it did not come out too good... link... www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_2010_publink1000220904


Table 4. Who Is a Qualifying Person Qualifying You To File as Head of Household?1

Caution. See the text of this publication 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 on page 16, 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 on page 16 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.

[marinakit]

mwcpa,

The mother lives with a 27-year old son who did not work and fully supports him. He is not her qualifying child as he does not meet the age test. She can claim an exemption for him as her qualifying relative.

If the mother is single there is no doubt that she qualifies to file as HoH.
If she is still married (the spouse does not live with them), is her son a qualifying person for her to be considered unmarried and, hence be HoH?
(a married person first has to be considered unmarried for tax purposes before determination whether s/he qualifies for HoH status can be made).

[mwcpa]

marina....

here are the rules (see the same publication 501 that I noted previously to morris)

"There are four tests that must be met for a person to be your qualifying relative. The four tests are:"

Not a qualifying child test,... so, as long as the child is not a qualifying child

Member of household or relationship test,.... live in your household for the entire year (there are some cases where this is not needed, see the list in 501, but your child in on it) and be related to you (see the rules, related to you has a specific definition, but your child is on the list)

Gross income test,... to meet this test, a person's gross income for the year must be less than $3,650. (Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that is not exempt from tax.)

Support test....To meet this test, you generally must provide more than half of a person's total support during the calendar year.

Age. Unlike a qualifying child, a qualifying relative can be any age. There is no age test for a qualifying relative.

Based on your facts
"If she is still married (the spouse does not live with them), is her son a qualifying person for her to be considered unmarried and, hence be HoH"
Yes, head of household is appropriate, assuming all of the tests in 501 are met.

These rules can split a lot of hairs (Congress made it so easy for us), so I strongly urge that you read publication 501 and the many examples the IRS gave us.

[marinakit]

mwcpa,

it's not HoH issue I am talking about but rather "considered unmarried". Apart from having a qualifying person the taxpayer has to be single or considered unmarried to be HoH. A qualifying person for HoH does not mean s/he will be a qualifying person for "considered unmarried purpose".
Let me give you another example:

The Grandmother lives with a 9-year old grandson and fully supports him. The grandson is her QC for dependency exemption.
1. If the Grandmother is single, he is also her qualifying person for HoH status.
2. If the Grandmother is married (but her spouse doesn't live with them) she can NOT be considered unmarried for tax purposes because the grandchild is not her "child, stepchild or foster child" ( "your home must be the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year"), so she is NOT HoH and has to file MFS. She can still claim him as a dependent though.

In my previous example I am not sure that the 27-year old son will qualify the mother to be considered unmarried (first), so she can be HoH.

[mwcpa]

excerpts from publication 501

"You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests"

"You file a separate return"
"You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year"
"Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances"
"Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year"
"You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. However, you meet this test if you cannot claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rules"

In the example of the grandmother that you gave the grandchild is not the "child, stepchild, or foster child" of the grandmother....

I will check the law when I get a chance. This is something I do not deal with regularly, maybe someone who does will chime in.

The publication refers to "qualifying child" all over the place, but in these rules they clearly leave out "qualifying," so I am going by a plain definition of the word "child".... but I will check the law to confirm....

[morrisliberty]

Hello,
You are correct grandchild or any descendant is not included as qualifying child or qualifying relative for considered unmarried's qualifying person. See Section 2{3}{c} and Section 7703{b}
for definition of considered unmarried.
I read the publication and code as the child to be under Section 151 {c} {3} defined for purposes of paragraph {1}{B} , the term "child" mean an individual who [within the meaning of section 152} is a son , stepson, daughter,or stepdaughter of the taxpayer.
The way I Read the Code and publications is if a qualifying child or qualifying relative who is a son , stepson , daughter , or stepdaughter of the taxpayer then that person is a qualifying person in the following three situations he or she is single and you are qualified to claim the exemption , or he or she is single and you can claim the exemption but do not only because the noncustodial parent can claim the exemption under rules of children of divorced or separated parents, or he or she is married and you can claim his/her exemption.

See definitions for adopted children and foster children


The child must be a dependent and only way child can be a dependent is to be a qualifying child or qualifying relative. The difference between unmarried and considered unmarried is that under unmarried a qualifying child's and qualiying relative's definition is different than qualifying child and qualifying relative definition for considered unmarried to be considered a qualifying person.

[mwcpa]

marina.... besides taking hootie's advise for a review of specific facts and circumstances Morris provides the two code sections in play...

generally, to be considered unmarried, on top of all of the other rules reviewed prior.... the household must be the principal residence of a child of the taxpayer for more than 6 months and the taxpayer must be entitled to a dependency exemption.

so, in your example, if the 27 year old is the child of thr taxpayer as defined in the law and if they qualify as a dependent then head of household is appropriate.... age seems to not be a factor in determining if a child qualifies for head of household status is one is married and is to be considered unmarried.

reference to law
7703(b)(1)
an individual who is married (within the meaning of subsection (a)) and who files a separate return maintains as his home a household which constitutes for more than one-half of the taxable year the principal place of abode of a child (within the meaning of section 152(f)(1)) with respect to whom such individual is entitled to a deduction for the taxable year under section 151 (or would be so entitled but for section 152(e)),

152(f)(1)(A) In general .—
The term "child" means an individual who is—
152(f)(1)(A)(i)
a son, daughter, stepson, or stepdaughter of the taxpayer, or
152(f)(1)(A)(ii)
an eligible foster child of the taxpayer.

[marinakit]

Thanks everyone, I was leaning to the same answer but was not sure. What a nice loophole - the mother taking care of a grownup will be considered unmarried and can file HoH, while the Grandmother looking after a minor will not.

[morrisliberty]

hello,

I have two simple questions.

If unmarried and cannot qualify for head of household , I can file single or if I qualify qualifying widow/er with dependent child.

If considered unmarried and cannot qualify for head of household, I must fle married filing separately. Is there any way I can file single or qualifying widow/er with dependent child?
In other words if I am married and legally separated as of the last day of the year , I must file single and I cannot file married filing separately or married filing jointly or qualifying widow/er with dependent child.


If I am married and my husband or wife lives in the home some part of the last 6 months of the year and therefore I would not qualify for head of household, could I file single , married filing separately, married filing jointly, or qualifying widow/er with dependent child?

[mwcpa]

"If considered unmarried and cannot qualify for head of household, I must fle married filing separately. Is there any way I can file single or qualifying widow/er with dependent child?"
you are married.... so you file married separate.... you are not a widower and you are not single.....

"In other words if I am married and legally separated as of the last day of the year , I must file single and I cannot file married filing separately or married filing jointly or qualifying widow/er with dependent child."
if you are divorced on the last day of the year you are single. legal separation does not mean divorced.

"If I am married and my husband or wife lives in the home some part of the last 6 months of the year and therefore I would not qualify for head of household, could I file single , married filing separately, married filing jointly, or qualifying widow/er with dependent child? "
you are married, and married joint or married filing separate are your only options in the facts here.

[morrisliberty]

hello,

thanks for the replies.

I have another simple question . Is is possible under any situation to file single if you are married, considered unmarried, living apart, etc.

I quote , For example, a nondeductible dependent could qualify an unmarried taxpayer to use the more advantageous head of household tate schedule; likewise, a MARRIED BUT SEPARATED TAXPAYER WITH A NONDEDUCTIBLE DEPENDENT CHILD COULD ALSO USE THE MORE ADVANTAGEOUS SINGLE TAXPAYER OR HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD RATE SCHEDULE.

COULD YOU COMMENT ON THE CAPITALIZED PORTION OF THE ABOVE QUOTE, I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS IS CORRECT SINCE IF YOU ARE MARRIED YOU CAN NEVER USE THE SINGLE TAXPAYER RATE SCHEDULE.


wHERE AM I GOING WRONG?

[mwcpa]

Morris

"Is is possible under any situation to file single if you are married, considered unmarried, living apart, etc"

from publication 504
"Married persons. You are married for the whole year if you are separated but you have not obtained a final decree of divorce or separate maintenance by the last day of your tax year. An interlocutory decree is not a final decree."

"Exception. If you live apart from your spouse, under certain circumstances, you may be considered unmarried and can file as head of household"

"However, you meet this test if you cannot claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rules"

further from 504....
"Considered unmarried. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests.

You file a separate return. A separate return includes a return claiming married filing separately, single, or head of household filing status.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.

Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances. See Temporary absences , later.

Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year. (See Qualifying person , on this page, for rules applying to a child's birth, death, or temporary absence during the year.)

You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. However, you meet this test if you cannot claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rule described later in Special rule for divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) under Exemptions for Dependents . The general rules for claiming an exemption for a dependent are shown later in Table 3. "

Please obtain a copy of publication 501 and 504 from IRS.gov