Head of Household

[Vince57]

 Hello Everyone,

I have moved in to my 90 year old mothers house to care for her and am the Feduciary for her VA Survivors Benefit. I have lived here for all of 2023 and some time before that. I pay all the utilities and grocerie bills and maintain the property. When filing my taxes I am told that I cannot claim Head of Household. Can you explain to me why?

[xmasbaby0]

You are paying for groceries and utilities?  Whose house is it?  Who is paying for the other expenses?  Are you actually paying for over half of your mother's support?      If your mother pays for over half her own support--including by owning the home you are both in----then you cannot claim her as a qualified dependent for HOH filing status.     Did your mother have more than $4700 of income ---not counting any Social Security?

In order to file as HOH you must be able to claim a qualified dependent.  It is not clear whether your mom can be claimed as your dependent.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

She *might* be a qualifying relative:

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,700 in 2023.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.
• What does "financially support another person" mean?

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.