Question

Interview Notes John and Marsha are both 30 years old. .They are not married and lived together all year. Marsha had $35,000 in wages during 2017. John earned $10,000 in wages. John has two children from a previous relationship. Mark is 9 and Kevin is 6 years old. Mark and Kevin lived with Marsha and John for all of 2017. Mark and Kevin did not provide over half of their own support Marsha paid all the rent, utilities, and household expenses. John occasionally paid for groceries but did not pay any household expenses. . John, Marsha, Mark, and Kevin are all U.S. citizens with valid Social Security numbers

What is the answer and why?

Answer 1

To file as head of household, you must:

• Pay for more than half of the household expenses
• Be considered unmarried for the tax year, and
• You must have a qualifying child or dependent

John is not fulfilling condition of paying more than half of the household expenses so he can't file as head of household. Marsha can't file as mark and kevin are not her children.

Option a) is correct as they both need to file return as single.