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@Dusty2 wrote:

@TaxGuyBill  When I read the rules for HOH it states you have to have a qualifying child.  It does not state that you have to claim the child. 

There is even a place in the program under HOH that says "If qualifying person is child but not a dependent" and then has all the information for the child.

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You may be correct that you don't need to claim the child.  However, if somebody else claims the child as their "Qualifying Child", it is no longer treated as your Qualifying Child. 

So yes, if nobody claims the child, then you might be able to claim Head of Household.  But if the other parent claims the child as their Qualifying Child, you can't file as Head of Household (except for the divorce/not living together for 6 month thing via Form 8332).  You can't split benefits between two parents (except for via Form 8332, which does not apply to this situation).