Qualifying person

[abcd12]

What is the name of your state? New York

I used my 22 year old son as a qualifying person so that I can file Head of Household. He joined the military in late April, and probably will not live with me for a 6 month period.

I found the below article on the IRS website, I believe i can still use him for HOH, the guy that does my taxes doesn't think so. I think I can

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https://itap1.for.irs.gov/owda/0/resource/Commentary_Files_Redirect_ITA/en-US/help/tempabs.html

Temporary Absence
A person is considered to have lived with you during periods of time when one of you, or both, are temporarily absent due to special circumstances such as:

• Illness,
• Education,
• Business,
• Vacation, or
• Military service.

It must be reasonable to assume that the absent person will return to the home after the temporary absence.
This information is found in the Filing Status chapter of Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax.

 

[Just Blue]

Tagging the tax gurus to assist you.

@Taxing Matters @LdiJ

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? New York

I used my 22 year old son as a qualifying person so that I can file Head of Household. He joined the military in late April, and probably will not live with me for a 6 month period.

I found the below article on the IRS website, I believe i can still use him for HOH, the guy that does my taxes doesn't think so. I think I can

----------------



https://itap1.for.irs.gov/owda/0/resource/Commentary_Files_Redirect_ITA/en-US/help/tempabs.html

Temporary Absence
A person is considered to have lived with you during periods of time when one of you, or both, are temporarily absent due to special circumstances such as:

• Illness,
• Education,
• Business,
• Vacation, or
• Military service.

It must be reasonable to assume that the absent person will return to the home after the temporary absence.
This information is found in the Filing Status chapter of Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax.

I agree with your tax person. In order for someone to be your qualifying person for HOH status they must also be your dependent. Since your son is 22, is not in school, and will be pretty much guaranteed to make enough money that he cannot be someone's dependent, you are not going to be able to use him as an HOH qualifier.

 

[abcd12]

He is a "qualifying person" not a dependent. I used him for the 2023 tax year to get HOH.

 

[Taxing Matters]

He is a "qualifying person" not a dependent. I used him for the 2023 tax year to get HOH.

The time away must truly be temporary. For example if he lived with you after joining the military and was assigned to a six month deployment after which he'd return to live in your home that would count as a temporary absence. If he's going to be living on various bases for the entire time of his service, that would not be a temporary absence. If he's permanently assigned to some place where he'll be living on base that's not going to be considered temporary. The details of his duty assignments, how long they'll last and whether there is a realistic prospect that he'll return to live with you all matter.

 

[abcd12]

He did training for 12 weeks at one base , came home for 2 weeks, is now training at another base, then will come home on leave for approx. 2 weeks. He is not permanently assigned to a base yet. I also found this in IRS Publication 17:

Residency Test To meet this test, your child must have lived with you for more than half the year. There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, adopted or foster children, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents. Temporary absences. Your child is considered to have lived with you during periods of time when one of you, or both, is temporarily absent due to special circumstances such as: • Illness, • Education, • Business, • Vacation, • Military service, or • Detention in a juvenile facility.

 

[LdiJ]

He is a "qualifying person" not a dependent. I used him for the 2023 tax year to get HOH.

From the IRS website

To qualify for head of household filing status, do I have to claim my child as a dependent?

Answer:
Generally, to qualify for head of household filing status, you must be able to claim a qualifying child or qualifying relative as a dependent. However, a custodial parent may be eligible to claim head of household filing status based on a child even if the custodial parent released a claim to exemption for the child. See Noncustodial parent is claiming our child as a dependent; do I still qualify as head of household?

Question
I am divorced with one child. This year my ex-spouse, who is the noncustodial parent, is entitled to claim our child as a dependent. May I still qualify as head of household?
Answer
You may still qualify for head of household filing status even though you aren't entitled to claim your child as a dependent, if you meet the following requirements:

1. You're not married, or you’re considered unmarried on the last day of the year.
2. You paid more than half of the cost of keeping up a home, that was your home and the main home of your child for more than one-half of the year.
3. Your child is your qualifying child for purposes other than the dependency exemption and the child tax credit.

Your son would no longer be a qualifying child because he is over 19, and not a student or disabled. He could only be a qualifying relative. As a qualifying relative he must count as living with you (which is the argument you are making) but he must also count as your dependent. He cannot count as your dependent due to his age and income. You are no longer a "custodial parent". If we were talking about college instead of the military then you could still be (in many circumstances but not in all circumstances) considered the custodial parent for tax purposes through age 23. However, we are not talking about college.