What is Head of Household Filing Status and Who Qualifies for It?

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My hair stylist brought up the fact that her elderly mother is going to move in with her and was wondering if that will benefit her taxwise. I told her she may be eligible to use the “Head of Household” filing status on her tax return, which could save her in taxes.

Filing Status Overview

The IRS has four tax filing statuses - Married Filing Jointly, Married Filing Separately, Single, Head of Household and Qualifying Surviving Spouse (before 2022, this was referred to as Qualifying Widow(er)). More than one filing status can apply to you; it is up to you to choose the one that will give you the lowest taxes.

Head of Household Status

Head of Household (HOH) filing status is available to taxpayers that are unmarried and that provide more than half the cost of a home for “certain other persons.”

It is preferable to use Head of Household filing status because the lower tax brackets are slightly more beneficial than for Single filing status, as follows for 2023:

  • 10% Tax Rate: $0 to $11,000 for Single vs $0 to $15,700 for HOH

  • 12% Tax Rate: $11,001 to $44,725 for Single vs $15,701 to $59,850 for HOH

  • 22% Tax Rate: $44,726 to $95,375 for Single vs $59,851 to $95,350 for HOH

  • 24% Tax Rate: $95,376 to $182,100 for Single vs $95,351 to $182,100 for HOH (practically the same)

  • 32% Tax Rate: $182,101 to $231,250 for Single vs $182,101 to $231,250 for HOH (exactly the same)

Additionally, the standard deduction is an amount on your tax return that reduces your taxable income and is used by the majority of taxpayers who do not itemize deductions (which we will not go into here). The standard deduction for HOH is $20,800 in 2023 vs $13,850 for Single. This is another significant benefit of filing HOH.

Head of Household Qualifying Factor #1 - Unmarried

Seems simple, right? Unmarried is unmarried, i.e.. single. But you can actually be married but be considered unmarried for HOH purposes. Here’s what the IRS considers as “unmarried” for purposes of HOH status:

  • You file a separate tax return from your spouse.

  • You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home during the tax year.

  • Your spouse didn’t live in your home during the last 6 months of the year, exclusive of temporary absences for business, medical care, school, or military service.

  • Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild or foster child for over half the year.

  • You must be able to claim the child as a dependent (with some exceptions we won’t go into detail on here).

Qualifying Child for Head of Household Status

For a child to qualify you for HOH status,

  • The child must be younger than the taxpayer and either under age 19, under age 24 an a full-time student or any age and permanently and totally disabled and

  • Lived with taxpayer over half the year and

  • Did not provide over half of their own support and

  • Is one of the following: son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother/sister, half brother/sister or descendant of any of them.

So, your 23 year old stepsister who is a full time student can qualify you for HOH status if she lives with you over half the year and you provide over half of her support.

While the taxpayer claiming HOH status must be considered unmarried, the qualifying child does not have to be unmarried. The qualifying child can be married, but if you can claim him/her as a dependent, they still qualify, assuming they meet the citizen test and joint return test (which we won’t go into detail here).

Confused yet? You’re not alone.

Qualifying Relative for Head of Household Status is a Parent

Your mother or father can qualify you for HOH status if you can claim him or her as a dependent.

So what does that mean for a parent to qualify as your dependent? They have to meet the following tests:

  • They can’t be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.

  • Generally they can’t file a joint tax return with someone else, unless they are only filing to get a refund and have no tax liability.

  • They are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident alien or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

  • Taxpayer must have paid over half of the cost of keeping up a home for the parent during the year. That includes costs such as rent, mortgage interest, real estate taxes, homeowner’s insurance, repairs and maintenance of the home, utilities, food eaten in the home and other household expenses. It does not include personal expenses such as clothing, health insurance, transportation costs, etc.

  • The parent’s gross income must be less than $4,700 in 2023 ($4,400 in 2022 - this amount changes every year). How is gross income determined? Gross income is all income that is not exempt from tax, such as wages, interest, taxable unemployment, taxable social security benefits, etc.

Additionally, for purposes of determining HOH status, a parent does not have to live with the taxpayer, as long as the parent meets the various dependency tests listed above.

So let’s stand back a second. If you are unmarried and are supporting over half the cost of your parent and they either live with you or elsewhere, and their only income is Social Security, chances are you can file your taxes using Head of Household status.

Qualifying Relative for Head of Household Status Other Than a Parent

To claim a relative other than a child or a parent for HOH status, the additional requirements are:

  • Must be a brother, sister, half brother, half sister, step brother, step sister, niece, nephew, stepbrother or any other person, as long as it does not violate local law.

    • Individuals that are not related to you in any of the ways above cannot qualify you for HOH status, though they can stay possibly qualify as a dependent.

  • Must have lived with you over half the year.

To Learn More About Filing Status

The IRS publishes Publication 501, “Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information” for those looking for more detailed information on these topics. For the short version, read the Form 1040 instructions.