California Tax Topic 87 - California Head of Household Filing Status

Determining the filing status can be a little complicated. Although you may be the head of your house, you may not qualify for the head of household (HOH) filing status under state and federal tax laws. 

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You will need FTB Publication 1540 to complete this topic.

1. The following statement is true regarding the head of household filing status.

A. To qualify for head of household filing status, you must have a qualifying person who does not need to be related as long as he or she meets the requirements to be either a qualifying child or qualifying relative.
B. To qualify for head of household filing status, you must pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home in which you and your qualifying person lived on the last day of the year.
C. The Head of Household filing status is for taxpayers who are either unmarried and not an RDP or meet the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a registered domestic partnership and maintain a home for a relative who lived in them for more than half the year.
D. All of the above.

2. An eligible foster child is a child for head of household purposes is a child

A. Placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by a judgment, decree, or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. Who attends school during some part of each of five calendar months during the year.
C. Who's gross income must be less than the federal exemption amount for the year in question.
D. You have legally adopted and after legal adoption, the child is considered your child by blood.

3. Generally, if two or more people keep up the same home, only one of the people could pay more than half the costs and qualify for the head of household filing status. When two or more families occupy the same dwelling,

A. Each family may be treated as keeping up a separate home if each family contributes to the support of the other family.
B. Each family may be treated as keeping up a separate home if each family maintains separate finances.
C. Each family may be treated as keeping up a separate home if each family maintains separate finances and neither family contributes to the support of the other family.
D. Both A and B above.

4. The taxpayer who provides more than half the cost of maintaining a separate home is treated as keeping up that separate home. To determine whether you paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home include

A. Costs of clothing and vacations.
B. Costs for education and transportation.
C. Costs for medical treatment and life insurance.
D. None of the above.

5. If someone lived with you for six months means that the person lived with your more than half the year for head of household purposes.

True False

6. If you have joint custody of your child, to qualify for head of household filing status, you must

A. Still meet all the requirements for the filing status.
B. Your child must have lived with you for more than half the year.
C. You must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home.
D. All of the above.

7. If you were married as of the last day of the year, and you did not live with your spouse at any time during the last six months of the year, to determine how many days your home was your qualifying person's main home,

A. Add together half the number of days that you, your spouse, and your qualifying person lived together in your home.
B. Add together all of the days that you and your qualifying person lived together in your home without your spouse.
C. Both A and B above.
D. None of the above.

8. If you were married as of the last day of the year and you lived with your spouse at any time during the last six month of the year, you can qualify for the head of household filing status.

True False

9. You are considered to have chosen to treat your nonresident alien spouse/RDP as a resident alien if

A. You and your nonresident alien spouse/RDP filed as joint return in a previous year.
B. You chose to treat your nonresident alien spouse/RDP as a resident so you could file the joint return.
C. You have not revoked that choice by the extended due date for fling the return at issue.
D. All of the above.

10. You are not in a registered domestic partnership if

A. You have never entered into a registered domestic partnership.
B. You filed a Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State and the six-month waiting period for the notice to become final has passed.
C. Your registered domestic partnership was annulled and you did not enter into another registered domestic partnership after the annulment.
D. Any of the above.

11. Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2007, RDPs under California law must file their California income tax returns using either the married/RDP filing jointly or married/RDP filing separately filing status. If you are an RDP, you may qualify to use the head of household filing status if

A. You are in the process of ending your relationship.
B. You meet the requirements to be considered not in a registered domestic partnership.
C. Both A and B above.
D. None of the above.

12. You were not in a registered domestic partnership if your registered domestic partnership was legally terminated under a final decree of dissolution. Neither a petition for termination nor an interlocutory decree of termination is the same as a final decree. Until the final decree is issued, an RDP remains in a registered domestic partnership.

True False

13. You must be entitled to claim a dependent exemption credit for your parent to be head of household. That is

A. Your parent must meet the requirements of a qualifying relative.
B. You must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was your parent's main home for the entire year.
C. Your parent's main home could have been his or her own home or any other living accommodation.
D. All of the above.

14. In meeting the residency test, a temporary absence may be for all of the following, except:

A. Due to illness.
B. Education, business, vacation or military service.
C. Incarceration.
D. None of the above.

15. To qualify for head of household filing status, your qualifying relative's gross income must be less than the federal exemption amount for the year in question.

True False

16. If two or more taxpayers including a parent claim the same child as a qualifying child for a particular tax year, the person shall be treated as the qualifying child of the taxpayer who is

A. A parent of the person.
B. If none of the taxpayers is a parent, the taxpayer with the highest adjusted gross income for the taxable year.
C. Either A or B above.
D. If none of the taxpayers is a parent, the person with whom the taxpayer resided the most.

17. For 2009, you were married or an RDP at the end of the year if

A. You were never married and never entered into a registered domestic partnership.
B. You received domestic partnership, or you filed a Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership with the California Secretary of State and the six-month waiting period for the notice to become final has passed.
C. Your spouse/RDP died in 2009 and you did not remarry or enter into another registered domestic partnership.
D. None of the above.

18. A registered domestic partner is a person who has filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the California Secretary of State.

True False

19. To be head of household, you must provide more than half of a person's total support during the calendar year to meet the support test. To determine whether you have provided more than half the support,

A. Find in the table published for income guidelines.
B. Compare the amount you contributed for the person's support to the entire amount of support the person received from all sources.
C. It is only required that the person be related to you.
D. None of the above.

20. You are considered to have chosen to treat your nonresident alien spouse/RDP as a resident alien if

A. You and your nonresident alien spouse/RDP filed a joint return in a previous year.
B. You chose to treat your nonresident alien spouse/RDP as a resident so you could file the joint return.
C. You have not revoked that choice by the extended due date for filing the return at issue.
D. All of the above.

21. The following is a benefit the HOH filing status provides

A. A lower tax rate.
B. A higher standard deduction than either the single or married/RDP filing separately filing status.
C. Both A and B above.
D. The highest tax rate and the lowest standard deduction.

22. If you incorrectly claimed the HOH filing status on your federal tax return, amend your federal return to claim your correct filing status. Don't worry about California tax return as it will be updated automatically.

True False

23. Although you may be the head of your house, you may not qualify or the head of household (HOH) filing status under federal and state tax laws.

True False

24. Even if your qualifying person meets the requirements to be a qualifying child or qualifying relative, you are generally not allowed an exemption if he or she files a joint income tax return. However, you may take an exemption for a qualifying person who files a joint income tax return, if

A. Neither your qualifying person nor their spouse/RDP would have a federal or state tax liability if they filed separate returns.
B. Your qualifying person and their spouse/RDP only filed a joint income tax return to get a refund of income tax withheld.
C. Both A and B above.
D. Either your qualifying person or their spouse/RDP would have a federal or state liability if they filed separate returns.

25. An eligible foster child is a child placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by a judgment, decree, or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Generally, formal placement ends when the child reaches the age of

A. 24.
B. 18.
C. 19.
D. 21.

26. If the total amount you paid is more than the amount others paid, you meet the requirement that you paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for head of household purposes.

True False

27. Your home must be the main home for yourself and the person who you believe qualifies you for head of household filing status for

A. At least 5 months of the year.
B. 12 months of the year.
C. More than half the year.
D. At least 3 months of the year.