Al and Janice, both U.S. Citizens lived together for the entire year (2022) but are not married to each other. Al provided over half her support. Janice was employed and had earnings in excess of the personal exemption amount for the year.

Exemption Janice – Because Janice’s earnings were more than the personal exemption amount, she fails the gross income test, and therefore cannot be claimed as a dependent of Al.

Filing Status Janice – If Janice’s earnings exceed the standard deduction for a single person, she is required to file her own return and would file as single. Even if Janice had no filing requirement, she may want to file to recover withholding. (For years prior to 2018 and after 2025, the personal exemption allowance amount is added to the standard deduction when determining if there’s a filing requirement based on gross income. With the exemption deduction currently suspended, only the standard deduction amount is used for the filing requirement test.)

Filing Status Al – Al cannot file as head of household (HH) because Janice is not a qualified individual (qualifying child or dependent relative) for purposes of HH.  Thus, he must file as single.