Head of household rules

How it works

Three tests apply. The person must be unmarried on the last day of the year, or treated as unmarried because they lived apart from their spouse for the last six months and the home was a child's main home. The person must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home, counting rent or mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, repairs, and food eaten in the home. And a qualifying person, usually a dependent child, must have lived in the home for more than half the year, with an exception for a dependent parent who can live elsewhere, such as in their own home or a care facility, as long as the taxpayer pays more than half the cost of that home. The standard deduction for this status is this year's official standard deduction head of household (not yet verified here; see the official source below), which sits between the single and married amounts.

What it gives

The brackets are wider than single, so more income is taxed at the lower rates.

The standard deduction is larger than single.

A parent supporting an elderly parent in a separate home can qualify without the parent living with them.

What it costs, or where the catch is

Only one person can claim the status for a given home and child, and two unmarried parents under one roof must sort out who paid more than half.

A noncustodial parent who claims the child's exemption by agreement still cannot claim head of household based on that child.

The half the cost test needs records, and roommates or a partner splitting the rent evenly can fail it.

A worked example

Celeste is divorced and her 10 year old son lives with her all year. Her rent, utilities, and groceries for the home come to $24,000, and she pays $20,000 of it while her mother chips in $4,000. She paid more than half, since $20,000 is 83 percent of $24,000. With income of $58,000, filing as head of household rather than single widens her 12 percent bracket and raises her standard deduction, saving her about $1,400 in tax that year.

Where it goes wrong

The common error is a person who shares a home and expenses equally with a partner claiming the status without having paid more than half.

Who confirms it for you

For your own numbers, a CPA or enrolled agent. This page explains how the rule works for people in general; it does not know your situation and does not tell you what to do.

The official source

IRS Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. Every figure that changes by year comes from the site's rules table, which the watcher checks against the official page on a schedule; where a figure is not yet verified, this page says so instead of printing a number.