Can I claim my mother as a dependent & file Head of Household if she's married?

You've got a few things to untangle here. For claiming your mother as a dependent, you need to meet the qualifying relative tests: 1. Your mother's gross income must be less than $4,700 (for 2023 taxes). Social Security is generally only taxable if the recipient has other substantial income, so your mom's $800/month might not count as gross income depending on her full situation. 2. You must provide more than half of her support for the year, which it sounds like you do. 3. The biggest complication is that she's married. Typically, a married person who files a joint return can't be claimed as a dependent by someone else. However, since your parents don't file returns at all (because they're not required to), this exclusion doesn't apply to your situation. For Head of Household, you must have a qualifying person living with you (some exceptions for parents). If your mother doesn't live with you, you wouldn't qualify for HOH status through her.

After dealing with a similar situation, I found that using taxr.ai really helped me sort through these dependency questions. I was trying to claim my father-in-law who lives with us but was getting confused about his pension income. I uploaded our documents to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed everything, then explained exactly how the rules applied to our situation. It flagged that I was missing documentation for some expenses I was paying for him, which would have been a problem if I got audited. The tool basically confirmed I could claim him AND take Head of Household, which saved me almost $2,000 compared to filing single!

Just wanted to follow up - I finally tried taxr.ai for my situation with my dad and it was incredibly helpful! It confirmed I could claim him as a dependent AND file as Head of Household despite his marital status, since he's been living with me and not with my mom for over a year. The tool analyzed his social security statements and my payment records, then walked me through exactly which support expenses counted toward the "more than half" requirement. It even created a detailed support worksheet I can keep with my tax records. I was really surprised when it showed me that my dad's medical expenses I paid could also be counted as itemized deductions. Would have completely missed that on my own!

After reading this thread, I want to mention that if you're having trouble getting a definitive answer from the IRS website or tools, Claimyr can get you through to a real IRS agent quickly. I was in a similar situation last year claiming my aunt as a dependent and couldn't get a straight answer online. Was going crazy trying to call the IRS directly - spent hours on hold over multiple days. Then I used https://claimyr.com and their service got me through to an IRS representative in about 20 minutes! You can see how it works in their demo video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent walked me through exactly what documentation I needed to have and confirmed I was eligible to file as Head of Household with my aunt as my dependent. Definitely worth it for peace of mind on a tax situation that could save you thousands.

I owe everyone an apology for being so skeptical about Claimyr. After waiting on hold with the IRS for 3+ hours over two days trying to get clarity on a similar dependent situation, I broke down and tried it. Got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes! The agent confirmed that I could claim my father as a dependent even though he's still married (but separated) since neither he nor my mother file taxes due to their income levels. The agent also clarified that I qualified for Head of Household since I maintain the home where my father lives. Turns out I've been filing incorrectly for the past two years and could even file amended returns to get additional refunds. Definitely worth the call!

Something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - even if you determine you can claim your mom as a dependent, make sure you consider the whole financial picture before doing so. Since your mom and stepdad receive Social Security, you claiming her might affect her eligibility for certain benefits like Medicaid, SNAP, or housing assistance if she receives any of those. Sometimes the tax savings for you might be less than what she could lose in benefits.

Wait - I thought Head of Household was only for single parents with kids? Can you really claim HOH with a parent as your dependent?

Based on everything discussed here, it sounds like you have a strong case for claiming your mother as a dependent and filing Head of Household. Here are the key points that work in your favor: 1. **Dependency Test**: Your mom's Social Security likely doesn't count as taxable income since she has no other income sources, so she should pass the gross income test (<$4,700 for 2023). 2. **Support Test**: You're clearly providing more than half of their support with mortgage, utilities, groceries, and major repairs like that $3,800 roof. 3. **Marriage Issue**: Since neither your mom nor stepdad file tax returns, the usual restriction about married people filing jointly doesn't apply. 4. **Head of Household**: Since they live with you and you maintain the household, you qualify for HOH status. One thing to consider - could you potentially claim both your mother AND stepdad as dependents? If his Social Security is also non-taxable and you're supporting both of them, you might qualify for two dependency exemptions. That could increase your tax benefits significantly. I'd recommend documenting everything carefully - keep those receipts and create a detailed record of all support you provided throughout the year. This will be crucial if the IRS ever questions your filing status.