Keyword: Living Together Tax Issues

This is archived information that pertains only to the 2005 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.

If two single people (never married) have a child and live together, providing equal support for that child, can they both claim head of household status?

Only the person who paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year would qualify for the head of household filing status. If both people paid exactly the same amount, neither would qualify for the head of household filing status. Please refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.

My husband and I have provided a home for my niece and her son for the past seven months. She receives no child support from her ex-spouse, and she does not work or have any income of her own. Can I claim her and her son as dependents?

Under a new law effective with tax years beginning after December 31, 2004, your niece and her son would qualify as your dependents as your qualifying children if your niece and her son--

Are the children or grandchildren of your brother or sister,
Have not attained the age of 19 (or 24, in the case of full-time students) by the close of the calendar year in which your taxable year begins,
Had the same principal place of abode as you for more than 1/2 of your taxable year, and
Have not provided 1/2 of their own support during the calendar year in which your taxable year begins.

Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, for more information.

If both parents want to claim the earned income credit, who is entitled to it if there was no marriage?

If the child is a qualifying child of both parents, they may choose which one will claim the credit. If there are two qualifying children, each parent may claim the credit on the basis of one of the children or one parent may claim the credit with both children. If both actually claim the credit on the basis of the same child or children, the parent who is entitled to the credit is the parent with whom the child lived for the longest period of time during the tax year, or the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time during the year.

Refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for full discussion of the earned income credit rules.

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