Tax Brake with Robert G. Nath, Esq.

A married couple can claim a child as a dependent if, among other things, they together provide more than half of the child's “support.” That term takes into account many factors, including cash paid for support and the fair value of non-cash items (such as the value of rent in some cases.) When a couple separates, there is a special rule allocating the dependency exemption to the “custodial” parent, regardless of which one actually contributes more than half the support. Also, the parents must be in the physical custody of one or both parents for more than half the year (i.e., Aunt Gertrude doesn't count), the parents must be divorced or legally separated, and the parents must have lived apart for the last six months of the calendar year.

Another special rule provides that the divorced couple can allocate the exemption as they wish, if they both agree.

Contrast all that with the head of household requirements. To qualify as head of household, you must be unmarried (or deemed unmarried) as of the end of the year, you must maintain, for over half the year, a home that constitutes the principal residence of a “qualified person”, that is, someone who could be your dependent, and you must pay over half the expenses of maintaining that home.

So, you can fail the head of household test (say, because your ex provides more than half the expenses) but still have a dependent (because you have custody).

You must parse these rules in each case to determine whether you qualify.

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