Question
If the parents of a year-old child never married but live together with the child for the tax year, and both contribute to the cost of maintaining the household for the child and themselves, may they both file as head of household?
Answer

No, only one parent may claim the child as a qualifying child to file as head of household.

  • To file as head of household you must furnish over one-half of the cost of maintaining the household for you and a qualifying person. Therefore, only one of the parents will have contributed more than one-half of the cost of maintaining the household and be eligible to file as head of household.
  • If a child is a qualifying child of both parents, there is a tiebreaker rule to determine which parent may claim the child. See Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information for more information.
Additional Information
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