Tax guides
Head of household filing status requirements
Vordana Tax ·
Filing as head of household usually leaves you with more money than filing as single: the standard deduction is larger and your tax is figured with wider brackets. But it has requirements. This guide explains what they are, according to the IRS, and who counts as a qualifying person.
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Why it pays
- The 2025 standard deduction for head of household is $23,625, compared with $15,750 if you file as single.
- The 10% bracket reaches $17,000 of taxable income, compared with $11,925 for a single filer, so more of your income is taxed at the lowest rate.
The three requirements
According to the IRS, you can file as head of household if you meet all three:
- You were unmarried, or considered unmarried, on the last day of the year (December 31).
- You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the year: for example, rent or mortgage, utilities, repairs and food eaten in the home.
- A qualifying person lived with you in that home for more than half the year. Temporary absences, such as school, illness or military service, count as time lived with you.
If you are married: when you are considered unmarried
According to the IRS, a married person can file as head of household if their spouse did not live in the home during the last 6 months of the year, they paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home, and that home was the main home of their child, stepchild or foster child for more than half the year, whom they can claim as a dependent. If you do not meet this, you must file as married, jointly or separately.
Who is a qualifying person
- A qualifying child: for example, your son or daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of any of them, who lived with you for more than half the year.
- Certain relatives who are your dependents, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, and lived with you for more than half the year.
- Your father or mother, if they are your dependent. According to the IRS, in this case they do not have to live with you: it is enough that you paid more than half the cost of keeping up your parent's main home for the entire year, such as a separate home or a home for the elderly.
How Vordana Tax handles it
In Vordana Tax you choose your filing status, and each option comes with a short explanation. If you choose head of household, the program asks for the name of your qualifying person, and applies the head of household standard deduction and tax brackets to your return.
Questions
I'm a single parent and my child lives with me. Can I file as head of household?
Most likely yes, if your child lived with you for more than half the year and you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home.
I support my mother, but she lives in her own home. Do I qualify?
You may. According to the IRS, if your mother is your dependent and you paid more than half the cost of keeping up her main home for the entire year, she does not need to live with you.
I'm married but we live apart. Can I be head of household?
You may, if your spouse did not live in your home for the last 6 months of the year, you paid more than half the household costs, and your child lived with you for more than half the year and is your dependent.
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