Filing Status and Dependents

Household classification on a return that affects brackets, deduction structure, and eligibility rules.

Baseline household status when no married or more specific household-based filing category applies.

Joint-return status for spouses who report income, deductions, and credits on one return.

Separate-return status for married taxpayers who do not use one joint filing path.

Household-based status for certain unmarried taxpayers with a qualifying person and qualifying home facts.

Household-status and dependency terms that affect brackets, deductions, credits, and who can be claimed.

Special household status that can apply after a spouse's death in a narrower dependent-child context.

A qualifying child is a dependency category used in many filing-status and credit rules, based on relationship, age, residency, and support tests.

A qualifying relative is a dependency category for certain non-child dependents, based on relationship or household, income, and support tests.

The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year for federal tax purposes.

The noncustodial parent is the parent who did not have the child for the greater number of nights during the year.

The tie-breaker rule is the IRS rule set that decides who may claim the same child when more than one taxpayer appears to qualify.

The credit for other dependents is a nonrefundable credit for dependents who do not qualify for the child tax credit.