OVERVIEW
Learn how to prove "Head of Household" status for the IRS with help from TurboTax in this video on tax tips.
Video transcript:
Hi, I'm Arye from TurboTax. To qualify for head of household on your tax return, you must be unmarried or considered unmarried by the IRS and live with a qualifying person that you can claim as a dependent, such as a child or elderly parent, for more than half of the year.
Filing as head of household may entitle you to a higher standard deduction, lower tax rates and increase the likelihood of qualifying for certain deductions and credits.
The IRS can require you to prove that you are eligible to be a head of household, but don't worry, it's pretty simple.
- First, you'll need to show that you provide more than half of the financial support for a dependent, like a child or your elderly parent. To prove this, just keep records of household bills, mortgage payments, property taxes, food and other necessary expenses you pay for.
- Second, you will need to show that your dependent lived with you for the entire year. School or medical records are a great way to do this.
If your dependent is your child however, then you'll only need to show that they lived with you for half of the year. That's it!
For more information about this and other tax topics, visit TurboTax.com.
