With all due respect, your CPA friend doesn't know what she is talking about. I am not a CPA or any other kind of tax expert, but even I can read the plain text rules in the IRS publications.
PUB 17 for example, under
Head of Household (From PUB 17 Page 22 Chapter 2 Filing Status)
Clearly says that to claim HOH you have to have "A ³qualifying person² who has lived with you in the home for more than half the year."
It then explains that a ³qualifying person² can only be either a qualifying child or some other qualifying relative. (See table 2-1 in Pub 17)
It then goes on to describe, in detail, the tests for a qualifying child, which are:
Qualifying Child (Pub 17-Page 26 Chapter 3 Personal Exemptions and Dependents)
There are five tests that must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:
- Relationship, 2. Age, 3. Residency, 4. Support, and 5. Special test for qualifying child of more than one person
Relationship Test
To meet this test, a child must be:
? Your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant (for example, your grandchild) of any of them, or
? Your brother, sister, half brother, half sis- ter, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descen- dant (for example, your niece or nephew) of any of them.
There is no need to go on because you are NOT related to your GF's child, so the child CANNOT be YOUR qualifying child.
Take this to you CPA friend and have her look it up before you make a mistake in filing your return (I know first hand that HOH IS one item that raises flags with the IRS).