What is Head of Household Filing Status?

Head of Household is a filing status for a taxpayer who maintains a home for a qualifying dependent child or person. Taxpayers may use the Head of Household filing status if they meet the following requirements:

• Were unmarried or considered unmarried at the end of the year

• Provided more than half the cost of keeping up a home

• Are claiming a qualifying person or dependent child who lived with them more than half the year

Qualifying Dependent Child for Head of Household
Qualifying children must meet the following 5 IRS tests; relationship, age, residency, joint return, and support.

Relationship

To meet the relationship test, the child must be the taxpayers: 

• Son, daughter, or stepchild
• Foster child (subject to additional rules)
• A descendant of any of these

Age

To meet the age test, the child must be one of the following

• Younger than 19
• A student younger than 24
• Permanently and totally disabled

Residency

To meet the residency test, the child must have lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year.

Joint Return

To meet the joint return test, the child must not have filed a joint return for the tax year they are being claimed. The only exception to this is if the dependent and their spouse are not required to file a tax return and file to claim a refund only.

Support

To meet the support test, the taxpayer must provide more than half of the child's support.

Qualifying Person for Head of Household
Qualifying persons must be a blood relative to the taxpayer son, daughter, mother, father, a descendant of any of these, or a foster child (subject to additional rules). In addition qualifying persons for HOH must meet the following 4 IRS tests; not a qualifying child test, member of household or relationship test, gross income test, and support test.

Not a Qualifying Child Test

To meet the not a qualifying child test, the qualifying person cannot be a qualifying child of another taxpayer.

Member of Household or Relationship Test

To meet the member of household or relationship test, the person must have lived with the taxpayer more than half the year, unless the person is the taxpayer's parent.

Gross Income Test

To meet the gross income test, the qualifying person must have earned income of less than $4,300 (tax year 2022).

Support

To meet the support test, the taxpayer must provide more than half the person's support.