head of household

[sanperky1]

a couple live together and have a baby.  He takes head of household but does not claim child.  Can the mother file single and claim the dependent child.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

nope.   

He needs a dependent for HOH, the only time you can file HOH without a dependent is in divorced or separated parents and the custodial parent allows the non-custodial parent to claim the child as a dependent, you cant do this when everyone lives together since they are both custodial parents in the same house.

[sanperky1]

That was my read also but he swears he read on line that the could take hoh and she could claim the dependent.  Thank you.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Again, if they didnt live together that is a possibility.