Can there Be Two Heads of Household for Tax Purposes?

One of the most common tax filing statuses is what is classified as the “Head of Household” status. In order to qualify for this status, you have to be unmarried. You also must have at least one qualifying dependent and be responsible for more than half of the cost of maintaining your home. However, what happens when you feel that both you and someone else in the same household meets these requirements? Believe it or not, it is possible for two people with the same address to both qualify for this status.

Does It Truly Count as One Household?   

The first thing to consider when determining whether or not there can be two heads of household is if you live and operate as one family unit, or if multiple units exist within the household. Obviously, if you were married to someone and that person took full responsibility for his or her own family, both of you still couldn’t qualify given the basic rules. However, if you lived with another, fully separate family that operated independently, that would be a different matter.

Physical Address is Not the Key Factor

An important distinction to understand is that just sharing the same physical address with another family or unit isn’t enough to disqualify both of you from filing as heads of household. It’s more about the dynamics and specifics within the structure.

The Importance of Tax Help

As you can imagine, even in cases where families live and operate completely separately within the same physical dwelling, having two people file with the same address can be tricky. While, as mentioned above, the IRS does not use physical address as a determining factor in this matter, it can complicate things and may even raise concern and increase the risk of an audit.

Thus, if you find yourself in this type of situation, be sure to have professional tax help on your side. That way, you can ensure that you are indeed filing correctly and that all proof and the proper documentation is available just in case the IRS has questions about your situation and its validity.