Question

Filing Status HOH vs. Qualified Widow

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 7, 2022
1 reply
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I am preparing a tax return for a friend. Her husband passed away in 2020. She has been the primary caregiver for her grandson, who is totally disabled, for many years. The grandson has been a dependent of the grandparents for over five years. He is awarded Social Security monthly, but it does not cover 50% of his living expenses.

This year I expected TT to recommend Qualified Widow as her filing status, but after inputting all required information, the system is defaulting to Head of Household and I can't figure out the reason. I prepared her return last year as well and the system does have the information that her husband passed in 2020.

I know that I can override the filing status, but am not comfortable doing so unless I am certain that she can file as Qualified Widow.

Thanks for any guidance.

DawnC

Employee

If the grandson is over 18 (23 if a student), Head of Household is her only option. Use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistance to confirm her filing status.

You must have a dependent child in order to file as a Qualifying Widow or Widower. There are 2 types of dependents, Child and Relative, see link below The grandson qualifies as a Qualifying Relative to his grandmother. He is a Qualifying Child to his parents (due to his disability), but not to his grandparent. So, all though she can claim him as a Qualifying Relative dependent, she can't claim him as a Qualifying Child dependent.

Head of Household requires a dependent (Relative or Child) - Qualifying Widower requires a Qualifying Child dependent. If you look at her Form 1040, Line 19, she is getting the $500 Other Dependent Credit - but she is not getting the bigger Child Tax Credit. Her child (the grandson's parent) would be able to claim him as a Qualifying Child, no matter his age.

Who Can I Claim as a Dependent? The age exception noted in the FAQ applies to the parent, which makes him a qualifying relative.

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