Head of Household Filing Status: Definition, Rules and Requirements

Head of household is a unique tax filing status that may offer beneficial tax rates and a higher standard deduction for those who qualify. This filing status applies to individuals who are unmarried, pay more than half the cost of maintaining a home and support a qualifying dependent. Knowing whether you meet the requirements for head of household can potentially save you money on your taxes, but eligibility depends on several factors, such as your relationship to the dependent and your financial contributions.

For more help with your tax planning, consider consulting with a fi nancial advisor.

Who Can File as a Head of Household?

There are three specific guidelines the IRS expects you to meet to qualify as a head of household (HOH). Here are the three requirements that you must meet in order to qualify:

1. You’re Not Married

First, you have to be single or considered unmarried by the last day of the tax year. The IRS considers you unmarried if you meet the following criteria:

You’re divorced or legally separated.
Your spouse didn’t live with you during the last six months of the year.
You and your spouse file separate tax returns.

If the circumstances of your separation are temporary, the IRS will consider you married for tax purposes. Qualifying temporary separations include military deployment, staying in a medical treatment facility or going to college.

2. You Pay the Bills

Second, you must 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.

The IRS may regard alimony or separate maintenance payments as income for the recipient. The applicable rules changed in 2018, so when you got your divorce matters. It’s best to consult a tax professional to determine exactly how the current tax rules apply to your specific situation.

3. You Have a Qualifying Dependent

Finally, you need to have a qualifying dependent living in the home with you for more than half the year. For many people who file as head of household, their qualifying dependent is a child. A qualifying child can be your biological child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, step-sibling, half sibling or a descendant of one of the aforementioned relatives.

The child also needs to be under the age of 19 (or under the age of 24 if a full-time student). You can also claim these relatives as your qualifying dependent if the person is permanently and totally disabled, regardless of age. If the dependent, though, is a sibling, they must be younger than you and their gross income must be less than $4,700.

Other non-child qualifying dependents include a parent, step-parent, niece, nephew, aunt, uncle and daughter-, son-, mother- or father-in-law. Note that you can claim a parent as your dependent even if the parent doesn’t live with you, as long as you pay for half the costs of their home, including if they live in a nursing home. The same is true for a child who is away at college. Again, they cannot have gross incomes in excess of $4,700.

Head of Household Status Advantages

Claiming “head of household” as your filing status (versus filing as single or married filing separately) benefits you in two ways.

First, you’ll get a lower tax rate. For tax year 2025, the 12% tax rate applies to single filers with taxable income between $11,925 and $48,475. If you file as head of household, you can earn between $17,000 and $64,850 before surpassing the 12% bracket.

For tax year 2026, the 12% bracket for single filers applies to taxable income between $12,401 and $50,400, while head-of-household filers stay in the 12% bracket up to $67,450, starting at $17,701.

Head-of-household filers also benefit from a higher standard deduction. For the 2025 tax year, the deduction for single filers is $15,000, compared with $22,500 for head of household. For the 2026 tax year, the standard deduction rises to $16,100 for single filers and $24,150 for head-of-household filers. Deductions reduce your taxable income for the year, which can bring your tax bill down or bump up the size of your refund.

Can I File as Head of Household If I Live With My Significant Other?

A man considers whether he can file head of household.

If you both are unmarried and have children from previous relationships, each of you can file as heads of household as long as you’re adhering to the IRS guidelines (including that each of you is paying for more than half of your home costs; e.g., you’re evenly splitting the rent and utilities and each of you pays for your own food).

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. But if the biological parent doesn’t work outside the home, the earning partner could claim HOH status. 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.
Neither had a gross income that exceeds $4,700.
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 their total support for the year.
Their income does not exceed $4,700.
They are not someone’s qualifying child.

Can I File as Head of Household If I’m Married?

You can file as head of household even if you’re married, but if you have a spouse, it’s likely more beneficial tax-wise to file jointly. However, if you are filing separately, you can claim head-of-household status if you meet these three criteria:

Your spouse did not live with you for the last six months of the year.
You provided the main home of the qualifying child and paid for more than half the home costs.
You are claiming your child as a dependent.

It’s important to analyze the best outcome for your personal situation and that of your spouse if you are married before deciding on your filing status.

Common Head-of-Household Filing Mistakes and Misconceptions

Many taxpayers assume they qualify for head-of-household status because they support a household or share expenses with someone else, but the IRS rules are narrower than many expect. One common misconception is that paying most household bills is enough. You must also have a qualifying dependent, and that dependent must meet specific relationship, residency and income requirements unless the dependent is a parent you support outside your home.

Another frequent mistake is assuming that a significant other automatically qualifies as a dependent. A partner can qualify only if they lived with you the entire year, had gross income below the IRS limit and received more than half of their support from you. If they do not meet all criteria, filing as head of household would be incorrect even if you pay most of the household expenses.

Taxpayers sometimes believe that having shared custody of a child automatically grants HOH status. The IRS requires that the qualifying child live with you for more than half the year. Financial support alone is not enough, and the parent who does not meet the residency test cannot use HOH status even if they provide more than 50% of the child’s financial support.

Finally, some married taxpayers mistakenly assume that living apart for part of the year allows them to claim head-of-household status. You must be considered unmarried for tax purposes, which generally requires your spouse to have lived elsewhere for the last six months of the year and for you to maintain the primary home for your qualifying child. Short-term or temporary absences do not meet this standard.

Bottom Line

Filing as head of household will put you in a lower tax bracket than if you filed as single. It also enables you to claim a higher standard tax deduction on your tax return. This is because you are supporting one or more people besides yourself. In turn, the government is lowering your tax burden the same way it does for married couples with children. This can make the head-of-household choice a very beneficial tax status for the right situation.

Tax Planning Tips

If you need help optimizing your tax strategy, consider working with a financial advisor with tax planning expertise. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
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