| FAQ Keyword |
2005 Tax Year |
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.
Previous | FAQ Index | Next
Tax Topics Index | FAQs Index
2005 Tax Help Archives | Tax Help Archives Main | Home
|
