How to Use Head of Household Status to File Your Taxes

Written by  Mel Whitney, EA

Last updated Feb 13, 2026

The head of household filing status is one that few people understand. But it is important to understand all of your filing options to minimize the taxes you owe. If you meet the criteria to qualify, a tax return for head of household can result in lower taxes than single status.  This article will help you to understand how to qualify for head of household filing status.

What qualifies you to file head of household or when can you file head of household:

• Be unmarried during the tax filing year
• Have a dependent or qualifying child
• Pay over half of the expenses of the household

As with many tax issues, there are specific definitions for some of these that are important to understand when deciding if you qualify for head of household status. These are explained in more detail below.

Considered unmarried

You can file as Head of Household only if, on the last day of the tax year, you are unmarried or the IRS treats you as “considered unmarried.”

You are “considered unmarried” if all of these are true:

Special exception: A dependent parent can qualify you for HOH even if they don’t live with you, but you generally must pay more than half the cost of keeping up their main home for the year.

What counts as “spouse didn’t live with you” (and what doesn’t)

Counts as not living with you: your spouse moved out and didn’t live in your home at any time in the last 6 months.

Temporary absences don’t break the rule: if your spouse was away for something temporary (for example, school, medical care, military service), the IRS may still treat them as living in the home.

Qualifying child

This requirement goes beyond your own child. For a dependent child to qualify, they must meet each of these criteria:

• Your child is required to be a biological child, a stepchild, a sibling, a foster child, a step sibling, or half sibling. Descendants of these are also qualifying.
• Your child is required to have lived in your home over six months of the year.
• The child must generally be younger than you (unless the child is permanently and totally disabled).
• The child must generally be under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled. Time away for school, medical care, vacation, or similar temporary absences can still count as living with you.
• Your child cannot have paid over half of their living expenses in the year.

You may still qualify for Head of Household even if the other parent claims certain child-related benefits, as long as the child lived with you more than half the year and is your qualifying person for HOH. This can happen when a custodial parent releases the dependency claim to the noncustodial parent, but HOH can still stay with the custodial parent if the HOH tests are met.

Qualifying dependent

Even if the dependent in question doesn’t meet the qualifying child criteria, you might still be able to file taxes as head of household. If they lived in your house over half the year, and you provided over half of their financial support, these relatives are qualifying dependents:

• Your father or mother
• Your stepmother, stepfather, nephew, niece, sibling of a parent, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law
• Your stepchild, sibling, foster child, or biological child (including their descendants) if they are totally and permanently disabled, regardless of age

You might also be able to use head of household status if you provided over half the expenses (head of household expenses criteria) for the main home of your parents during the full year and can claim them as a dependent, even if they didn’t live with you.

Maintaining the household

You need to have paid more than half the costs of keeping up a home for the year. That includes your rent or mortgage payment, property taxes, utilities, repairs, maintenance and groceries. You can’t include things like clothing, life insurance or transportation. Receiving child support or alimony doesn’t prevent you from claiming head of household as long as you’re paying more than 50% of your household costs from your own income or savings.

Even if you get financial help from someone, you still qualify if you pay over half the bills with your own money.

Advantages of using head of household status 

Does filing head of household get you more money? Claiming “head of household” as your filing status (head of household filing status vs single or married filing separately) benefits you in two ways. First, you’ll get a lower tax rate.

Updated example (Tax Year 2025 - returns filed in 2026). Head of household usually means:

• a higher standard deduction and
• wider/lower tax brackets than Single.

For 2025, the standard deduction is $22,500 for Head of Household and $15,000 for Single. The 12% bracket for Head of Household runs from $17,001 to $64,850 of taxable income (vs $11,926 to $48,475 for Single).

How to file as head of household (step-by-step)

Use this quick checklist to claim Head of Household (HOH) correctly and reduce the chance of a rejected return or IRS notice.

1. Confirm you’re unmarried (or “considered unmarried”) on the last day of the year

• Unmarried, divorced, or legally separated usually qualifies you as “unmarried.”

• If you’re still married, you may still qualify as “considered unmarried” if your spouse didn’t live in your home during the last 6 months of the year and you meet the other HOH tests.

2. Confirm you have a “qualifying person”

• Most commonly: a child who lived with you more than half the year.
• Special rule: a dependent parent can qualify you even if they don’t live with you, if you paid more than half the cost of keeping up their main home for the year.

3. Do the “keeping up a home” math

You must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home (rent/mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, repairs, food eaten in the home, etc.).

4. Prepare the dependent details you’ll enter on the return

Have ready: name, SSN/ITIN (if applicable), relationship, months lived with you, and support facts (who paid what).

5. Select “Head of household” on Form 1040 / 1040-SR

Then complete the Dependents section. If your HOH qualifying person is your parent and they didn’t live with you, keep records showing you paid more than half the cost of keeping up their main home.

What to keep for your records (audit-proofing):

1. Proof of residency (school/medical records, lease, letters)
2. Proof of household costs (rent statements, utility bills, grocery receipts)
3. Proof your spouse didn’t live with you in the last 6 months (if “considered unmarried”)

Common head of household mistakes (and safer moves)

"We’re separated, so I automatically qualify."

Safer move: If you’re still married, confirm you meet the “considered unmarried” tests—especially that your spouse didn’t live with you in the last 6 months (temporary absences don’t count as living with you).

Using a child who didn’t live with you more than half the year

Safer move: HOH usually requires the qualifying person to live with you more than half the year (parent is the big exception).

Confusing “supporting someone” with “qualifying person”

Safer move: Paying expenses isn’t enough. The person must meet IRS qualifying-person rules (child tests or qualifying relative rules).

Using an outdated income limit for a qualifying relative

Safer move: For Tax Year 2025, the qualifying-relative gross income test uses $5,200 (it changes by year).

Two adults both trying to use the same child for HOH

Safer move: Only one taxpayer can use a given child as the qualifying person for HOH for the year. If living arrangements are complicated, apply tie-breaker logic carefully and keep documentation.

Misunderstanding “keeping up a home” costs

Safer move: Count costs like rent/mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, repairs, and food eaten in the home. Don’t count personal expenses like clothing, life insurance, or commuting.

Do I qualify to file as head of household if I am single?

Can you file head of household if you are single? If you’re unmarried, you can file as Head of Household only if you (not “you as a couple”) paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home and had a qualifying person. Two unmarried adults living together can both be HOH only in limited situations - typically when each has their own qualifying person and each meets the “more than half the cost” test for their household. A child can’t be the qualifying person for two people’s HOH status in the same year.

If you have a child together, only one of you can claim HOH status with that child in mind (the IRS says that a child can be only one person’s dependent.)

In the case where only one of you has a child from a previous relationship, the biological parent can claim HOH status – and the other can claim single status. Head of Household isn’t based on who earns more - it’s based on whether you have a qualifying person and you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home. If a child isn’t your qualifying child/relative under IRS rules, you generally can’t use that child to claim HOH.

In order to claim both the child and non-earning partner as qualifying dependents, the following would have to be true:

• You provided more than half of their total support for the year.
• They lived with you legally as members of your household for the entire year.
• For Tax Year 2025 (filed in 2026), the gross income limit for the qualifying relative test is $5,200 (this amount can change each year).
• Neither is someone’s qualifying child.

Can I file as head of household if there are no children?

If there are no children, you can still claim a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend as a qualifying dependent, as long as you meet the following is true:

• The significant other lived with you legally the whole year.
• You provided more than half his or her total support for the year.
• His or her income does not exceed $5,200.
• He or she is not someone’s qualifying child.

What makes you head of household if you are married?

If you’re still legally married, you may be able to file as Head of Household if you are considered unmarried (spouse didn’t live with you in the last 6 months), you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home, and you had a qualifying person (often a child who lived with you more than half the year; special rule for a dependent parent).

Conclusion

You may save some money on your taxes if you qualify to file as head of household. If you think you may be eligible, spend some time understanding the requirements or seek out professional tax assistance.