Head of Household

[Colleenz]

Can you claim HOH if you do not claim the dependant?

For example: A divorce decree where one parent pays for the majority of the childs expenses every year, but the decree states the tax exemption for the child will alternate each year.

[mwcpa]

I suggest reading IRS publication 501

www.irs.gov/publications/p501/index.html

"Head of Household
You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all 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” lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the “qualifying person” is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to live with you. See Special rule for parent , later, under Qualifying Person. "

When the person is legally married the issues are a little more complicated to be eligible for HOH status.

[Colleenz]

Thanks MW!!!

[taxref]

The quick answer to your question is yes.

That quick answer assumes, however, 2 conditions:

1. You meet the requirments to file HOH, and
2. the only reason you do not claim the child as a dependent is because the other parent is claiming the child under the rules for divorced or separated parents.

The link provided by MWCPA will give the details.

[Colleenz]

Thanks taxref. Those two conditions will be met.

[rileyoday]

I had an audit on HOH in 2000. . Divorce decree means nothing to IRS. Where the child lives and over 50% of support are what counts.
The burden of proof was rediculous.


I wasted 1400.$ on attorny fees.

If your switching off taking the deduction but not changing the level of support one of you may get pinged.

[taxref]

". . Divorce decree means nothing to IRS. "

A divorce decree only works for this purpose if it contains all of the information listed on a Form 8832. I have never seen one which has. Despite the IRS prevailing in court repeatedly on this issue, for some reason lawyers continue to use boilerplate (and insufficient) language in divorce decrees.

Consequently, Form 8832 should be signed by the custodial parent (for tax purposes, the parent the child spends the most nights with during the year) for each year the non-custodial parent claims the child.

[TheOtherMe]

As both a retired IRS agent and former tax preparer, I was constantly amazed at the wording of divorce decrees since the IRS does not recognize them. I always wondered how much the attorney made writing the paragraph about taxes since it means nothing to the IRS.

Yes, the divorce decree must contain certain language for it to be valid and I never saw one that did.

[Frappuccino]

Hello, does anyone know what is sufficient proof that I could show the IRS to prove that my child was in my home 183 nights in 2011 and only in the other parent's home 181 nights? Will the custody agreement and a calendar work if the the other parent were to refuse to sign the 8832? Thanks

[Colleenz]

Hello, does anyone know what is sufficient proof that I could show the IRS to prove that my child was in my home 183 nights in 2011 and only in the other parent's home 181 nights? Will the custody agreement and a calendar work if the the other parent were to refuse to sign the 8832? Thanks

Did you also provide the majority of the support for the minor child? I think the issue they are referring to is if a taxpayer files single (not HOH), but also claims a child as a dependant.

Hopefully the big brains will help us out. ;D

[Frappuccino]

Hello, thanks for your reply! I provided 100% of my child's support while in my home plus miscellaneous expenses that were covered the whole year. I think I qualify for claiming the dependency exemption and Head of Household filing status. My question is, if ex spouse wants to cause problems, does anyone know what the IRS will accept as proof that my child was in my home 183+ nights in 2011 for the HOH filing status when we have joint physical custody? Thanks

[taxref]

In the case of 183 vs. 181 days and Form 8832 question, you are incorrectly mixng 2 different definitions of custodial.

Remember that for *tax* purposes, the custodial parent is the one who the child spent the 183 nights with. The tax code does not care about which parent has *legal* custody under the divorce decree. Consequently, if the child spent 183 nights at your home you are the cusodial parent for tax purposes. You would have to give the 181 night parent an 8832 to allow that parent to claim the child.

Proving your claim is another matter entirely. The custody agreement is invalid for this purpose, while the calendar would be helpful. Other documents, such as school and/or medical records, may also come into play.

[mwcpa]

I concur with the ref...

[Colleenz]

Found the form (it is actually 8332). www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf

Thanks ref and MW!!!