Adult child & HOH

[Black Bart]

Question: Can an adult child qualify his/her parent as Head of Household if the parent meets all others tests?

I'm NOT talking about our previous discussion regarding the number of adults who can live in a household and NOT talking about the live-in boyfriend/girlfriend situation.

By adult child I mean just the ordinary kid who is over 19, who is not a student, who is not disabled -- he/she is simply unemployed, broke, contributes nothing to the household, and has no income of any kind from anyone (including SSA/welfare/other relatives/etc.). They are simply living <CORRECTION> WITH ONE PARENT AT THE HOME OF THAT PARENT all year long and doing nothing.

Obviously, he/she is still your child, but is simply an older, non-disabled one that no longer fits the usual rules. So...what did Congress mean by the term "child"? While you can get them as dependents, can these older do-nothing kids still qualify the parent as HOH?

Any opinions? Thanks.

[Burke]

Used to. Whether they worked or not and no matter how much income they had. You did not have to claim them as a dependent to qualify for HOH if you met the 1/2 cost of keeping up the home. They changed it a few years back. Now adult children (under those rules) do not qualify parent for HOH. Under your circumstances, probably a dependent deduction though.

[Jesse]

I think you're just trying to get me started Bart -

If Koss is lurking out there I have always respected his knowledge pertaining to HOH, EIC and dependency status so maybe he'll chime in.

For what it's worth here is my opinion:

Go to this link and walk through the questions:

http://apps.irs.gov/app/eitc2008/Forward_Filing_Status.do;jsessionid=X3W9J3KRvnY528ByLpGWsrk2NvkFSPy611k2dz26rnTLPTGn5qTZ!1506416300!1015522313

I think these are the KEY questions:
Did the child or stepchild who lived with you provide over half of their own support for 2008?
Is the child or stepchild a qualifying child of any other person?
Did you provide more than half of the total support for the child or stepchild?
Did the child or stepchild have gross income less than $3,500?

Actually in your senario this kid could qualify as a dependent and the parent could be head of household.

[KBTS]

I agree with Jesse that HOH would apply in your situation. Also see TTB pages 3-15 for definition of qualifying relative and page 3-18 for HOH chart.

[DixieEA]

Qualifying child for HH

Bart, according to TTB 3-14 says has to meet test 4-7 for qualifying child on page TTB 3-15. So, looks to me the answer is no.

DixieEA

[zeros]

Earned Income Credit - MFS?

Client is separated from spouse and divorce is pending. Not sure how long separated. Have children so probably would be eligible for the EIC. Except for the MFS status. Is there any exception to this rule?

[BP.]

I agree with Jesse that HOH would apply in your situation. Also see TTB pages 3-15 for definition of qualifying relative and page 3-18 for HOH chart.

Agree- would file this scenario as HOH, based on refs provided (TTB 3-15 & 3-18 chart.) The "qualifying person" for HOH status is a "qualifying relative."

Also see pub 17, p. 23 Table 2-1. The person described in this scenario is a "qualifying relative," and as such meets the description in col 1, block 3 & col 2, block 6, therefore a "qualifying person" for HOH status.

according to TTB 3-14 says has to meet test 4-7 for qualifying child on page TTB 3-15. So, looks to me the answer is no.

Test 2 (a) is met in this scenario.

[MariaR08]

Client is separated from spouse and divorce is pending. Not sure how long separated. Have children so probably would be eligible for the EIC. Except for the MFS status. Is there any exception to this rule?

There is no exception, one of the EITC REQUIREMENTS is that you cannot file with a status of Married Filing Separate.

~Maria

[MariaR08]

Bart, according to TTB 3-14 says has to meet test 4-7 for qualifying child on page TTB 3-15. So, looks to me the answer is no.

DixieEA

Only has to meet test 4-7 IF they are meeting requirements for "qualifying child". They can meet either the qualifying child or qualifying relative test to qualify the taxpayer for HOH filing status. The "child" - who is not really a child, per say - is qualifying his/her parent for HOH under the "qualifying relative".

~Maria

[Black Bart]

Yeah, good idea.

If Koss is lurking out there

If Burton is out there, hopefully he could tell us (if anybody can) what's the definition of a child for such a routine case.

Meantime, it looks like opinions are split about 50-50 (except everybody agrees, of course, that he's a dependent).

To further clarify -- I'm just talking about a straight-up normal household with ONE PARENT and one adult "child" (nobody else living there to muddy up the water). The kid provides NO support, the PARENT provides ALL support, nobody else is claiming or is eligible to claim him for anything, so there's no question of qualifying this or qualifying that or support issues or anything else except the burning question -- is this child a "CHILD" as it applies to Head of Household status for the parent?

Wonder why they (IRS) can't ever just come out with a flat yes or no about such things?

[Jesse]

a straight-up normal household with mom and pop and one adult "child" (nobody else living there to muddy up the water).

It's clear as mud!

Are Mom and Pop married? If yes it wouldn't matter they would be MFJ.

[BP.]

To further clarify -- I'm just talking about a straight-up normal household with mom and pop and one adult "child" -- is this child a "CHILD" as it applies to Head of Household status for the parents?

OK, the "further clarification" is actually a change in the scenario. Original post mentioned "parent" singular. The clarification now mentions "mom & pop" and "parents."

No HOH in the new scenario, if mom & pop are married.

[MariaR08]

If scenario changes to taxpayer(s) as Married filing jointly, their "child" does not meet the tests for "qualifying child" - would only meet the tests for "qualifying relative" and hence would allow the parents to take a dependent exemption.

~Maria

[Black Bart]

Okay, you're right.

It's clear as mud!

Are Mom and Pop married? If yes it wouldn't matter they would be MFJ.

Sorry, but while I was composing the original post, I lost my train of thought and inserted two parents into the situation instead of just the one. But what I was trying to say is that nobody else has any claims on the kid or is involved in any way to contest or deny the possible HOH status.

[Jesse]

Set up a poll

I'll forgive your temporary insanity and vote with Maria as she explained it better than I.

Only has to meet test 4-7 IF they are meeting requirements for "qualifying child". They can meet either the qualifying child or qualifying relative test to qualify the taxpayer for HOH filing status. The "child" - who is not really a child, per say - is qualifying his/her parent for HOH under the "qualifying relative".

~Maria