Sonya and Jamar live together as domestic partners with a daughter. Jamar files a tax return while Sonya files a separate tax return and claims Gabrielle as their dependent. Since the three live together, is this one tax household?

• A. True
• B. Not specified
• C. False
• D. It depends on state law

Answer: (C)

The concept here is how a tax household is defined for purposes like the marketplace: it’s determined by how dependents are claimed on tax returns, not just by who lives under the same roof. If two people are domestic partners and file separately, they aren’t automatically one tax household unless there is a joint return or a same-claim arrangement on a single return.

In this scenario, Jamar files his own return, while Sonya files separately and claims Gabrielle as a dependent on her return. That means Gabrielle is part of Sonya’s tax household, but not part of Jamar’s. Since the three do not share a single return or a single dependent claim, they do not form one tax household. State law doesn’t determine tax households for the marketplace—federal tax rules do.

So, it is not one tax household.