Confused about filing status - head of household vs single when supporting girlfriend?

Wait so what if they have been living together for more than 5 years? Does common law marriage count for anything tax wise?

Common law marriage only applies for tax purposes if your state legally recognizes common law marriages. Only a handful of states do, and even then, you typically need to present yourselves as married to the community, not just live together for a period of time. Even in states that recognize common law marriage, simply living together doesn't automatically create this status - you generally need to present yourselves as a married couple to friends, family and the community. If your state does recognize your relationship as a common law marriage, then you could file as married filing jointly or married filing separately, not head of household.

How accurate is this service compared to like an actual CPA? I'm in a weird situation where I support my elderly neighbor who has no family and I'm wondering if I could claim HOH.

Does it cost money? I always get nervous about these online tax services because they start out free then hit you with fees at the end.

Their analysis is extremely accurate because they use the actual IRS rules and regulations, just like a CPA would. The difference is they have AI that can process all the tax codes instantly. For your situation with supporting an elderly neighbor, they could definitely help determine if that qualifies you for HOH - it's exactly the kind of nuanced question they're good at answering. The service does have some paid features for more complex situations, but they're upfront about it and offer a lot of helpful information for free. What I liked is that they explain why you qualify or don't qualify for certain statuses, not just give you a yes or no answer.

Is this legit? How does it actually work? I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about an audit letter and keep getting disconnected.

This sounds like a scam. How can a third party service possibly get you through to the IRS faster than calling yourself? The IRS phone system is notoriously backed up and I doubt they'd give priority to some random service.

It's completely legitimate - they use an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits in the queue for you. When they reach a real person, the system calls you and connects you directly to the IRS agent. It's like having someone wait in line for you. They don't get "priority access" to the IRS - they just handle the waiting part so you don't have to sit with a phone to your ear for hours. The IRS has no idea you've used the service because by the time you're talking to them, it's a direct connection between you and the IRS agent.

Thanks for this info! We're actually thinking about having kids in the next year or two, so that's really good to know. If we have a child, would I automatically qualify for HOH or are there other requirements I'd need to meet?

You'd still need to meet the other HOH requirements - paying more than half the cost of keeping up the home where your child lives for more than half the year, and being unmarried or considered unmarried. But yes, your child would be a qualifying person, allowing you to file as HOH which would give you better tax rates and a higher standard deduction compared to filing as single. If both you and your girlfriend are the child's parents, only one of you can claim HOH, typically the parent who has the higher adjusted gross income if the child lives with both of you equally.

This is right! I claim my brother as a dependent because he's in college and I support him. Saved me about $500 on my taxes last year. The key is they can't have much income and you have to provide more than half their total support for the year.

Oh wow, I didn't even think about this! She only worked part-time last year and made around $3,500 total. I definitely provided way more than half her support. Does she need to be related to me to claim her as a dependent?