Can I file as Head of Household after spousal abandonment with a 2-year-old?

What about the rule that says you need to be "unmarried" to file as head of household? Since they're still legally married, doesn't that disqualify them?

That's where the "considered unmarried" test comes in. You don't actually have to be legally divorced or unmarried to file as Head of Household. The IRS recognizes that legal proceedings take time and situations like abandonment shouldn't penalize the responsible parent. As long as you meet the five criteria I mentioned above, you can be "considered unmarried" for tax purposes even while still legally married. It's an important distinction designed specifically for situations like yours where you're essentially functioning as a single parent household despite still having a legal marriage on paper.

Does it handle more complicated situations? My spouse left last year but would randomly show up sometimes to see the kids. I'm worried that might mess up the "not living together" requirement.

I'm a bit skeptical about these tax tools. Couldn't you get the same info by just calling the IRS directly? Why pay for something when the IRS will tell you for free?

It actually does handle more complicated situations like yours. The key is tracking how many nights your spouse stayed at your home - if it's less than half the year, you're still good. The tool walks you through calculating exact days and what counts as "living there" versus just visiting. As for calling the IRS directly, good luck with that! I spent hours on hold multiple times and kept getting different answers from different agents. With taxr.ai, I got consistent guidance and they actually looked at my specific documents. Plus, they provide an audit risk assessment which the IRS definitely won't give you.

Wait how does this actually work? Do they have some special phone number to the IRS or something? I've literally never been able to get through.

Yeah right. No way they can get through when the IRS has hold times of 3+ hours. Sounds like a scam to me.

They use a callback system that constantly redials and navigates the IRS phone tree until they get through. Then when they're about to connect with an agent, they call you and connect you directly. It's not a special number or anything sketchy - they're just automating the painful hold process. I was super skeptical too at first, but after wasting entire afternoons on hold, I figured it was worth trying. The agent I spoke with was definitely a real IRS employee who pulled up my previous returns and everything. They specifically confirmed I qualified for the "considered unmarried" test for Head of Household.

Thank you for bringing this up! Are there specific credits I should be looking out for that work differently with HoH versus MFS? I do have childcare expenses that I was hoping to claim.

The Child and Dependent Care Credit is a big one - you generally can't claim it when filing as Married Filing Separately, but you CAN claim it as Head of Household. This could be worth thousands if you're paying for childcare. Same with the Earned Income Tax Credit - you're not eligible with MFS status, but you are with HoH. The Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning) are also not available with MFS but are with HoH. These differences are exactly why it's so important for you to qualify for HoH status if possible. The tax benefits compared to MFS are substantial, especially as a single parent with childcare costs.

I used TurboTax last year in the same situation. There's a series of questions about your living situation that you need to answer. When it asks if you're married, say yes. Then when it asks if you lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of the year, say yes. Keep answering their questions about supporting your child and household, and it should eventually determine you're eligible for HoH. If you get stuck, use their live help feature - I had to do that to get through some confusing parts.