You Make the Call - Nov. 11, 2024

Question: John is an unmarried taxpayer and has a dependent son, Billy. Billy passed away in May of 2023. Can John still claim head of household (HOH) status in the year Billy passed away, if Billy met all the other requirements to be a qualifying child (relationship, age, support and joint return) except the residency test (Billy did not live with John more than half the year)?

Answer: Yes, John can still file using the HOH filing status, even if Billy passed away in May according to both IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals, Page 27, and IRS Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, Page 9. These publications say a taxpayer may be eligible to file as head of household even if the person who qualifies you for this filing status is born or died during the year. To qualify for HOH filing status, the qualifying person must be a qualifying child or qualifying relative who lived with the taxpayer for more than half the part of the year they were alive. In addition, IRS Reg. §1.2-2(c)(1), Household, provides the taxpayer and such other person, must occupy the household for the entire taxable year of the taxpayer. However, the fact that such other person is born or dies within the taxable year will not prevent the taxpayer from qualifying as an HOH if the household constitutes the principal place of abode of such other person for the remaining or preceding part of such taxable year.

The key condition is that the HOH requirement must have been met until the date of death, not the entire taxable year. According to IRS Publication 17, Page 31, Residency Test. To meet this test the child must have lived with the taxpayer more than half the year. There is an exception for children who were born or died during the tax year.