RentToOwn-HouseFinder.com

I have a dependent, my son. Can I claim head of household if I do not rent or own a home?

I live with my mother, but I earn my own money and support my son. In order to claim head of household, do I need to own the house or rent the house or pay utilities on the house? Or do I not understand head of household completely?

Public Comments

1. Head of Household filing status required that you pay over half the costs of maintaining a home. This includes mortgage or rent, utilities, repairs, maintenance, and food eaten at home. If you do not pay over half the costs of maintaining the home you and your son live in, you can file Single and claim your child. You will still be able to get all tax benefits for the dependent child.
2. Ninasgram is correct. You don't necessarily have to own or rent the home to claim head of household, but if your mom owns or rents the house, and pays the utilities, it would be very unlikely that you're paying more than half the expenses of keeping up the home. If your mom owns the home and doesn't have a mortgage, that doesn't matter since you'd have to include the fair rental value of the home as part of the cost of keeping up the home.