My roommate was unemployed for all of 2006. He is totally financially dependent on me for his support & welfare. May I claim Head of Household & declare him as a dependent on my tax retruns?

Is your roommate a US citizen?

Yes... US citizen

I am not 100% sure on this. He is not a relative, child, or medicaly incapable. I don't think you can do head of household unless there is a child. Contact a accountant and ask you q

Armcginley:

You CANNOT claim Head of Household status, because he is NOT a relative, but rather just a roommate.

You CAN claim him as a dependent while filing in SINGLE status if he lived with you ALL year and you provided more than half of his total support.

Yes... thanks for confirmation & jogging my memory. I will file as "single" & claim roommate as a dependent as I have supported him totally in 2007.

Glad to help!

He must be a US citizen for you to be able to claim him as a dependent. Do not use the Head of Household status though. You should be okay with this if you file "single"

Agreed!

To claim a dependent (under Qualifying Relative) it is not necessary that the person is related to you but he/she must be the U.S. citizen or resident (even for tax purpose).

For Head of Household, the qualifying person must be your dependent and must be your relative:
Qualifying Person.
1. Qualifying child who lived with you more than half the year.
2. A qualifying relative who is your mother or father.
3. A qualifying relative who lived with you for more than half the year and you can claim as exemption for him or her.

Noted!

Hang on a second. Does the roommate have any income, including unemployment benefits? If so, it is unlikely they are going to pass the test to be a dependent.

That is true; unemployment IS taxable income.