Are You a Head of Household?
Next to the joint return rates, the best tax rate schedule applies
to single taxpayers who qualify for head of household (HOH) status.
However, some complicated rules determine whether you are eligible
to file as an HOH.
You can qualify for HOH status if you
meet all of the following conditions:
- You are unmarried at the end of the tax year.
- You paid more than one-half of the cost of maintaining a household
for year.
- You had at least one "qualifying dependent" for the year.
You are considered to be unmarried at the end of a tax year
if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the tax
year, or if you are legally separated from your spouse under a decree
of divorce or separate maintenance at the close of the tax year. If
you are still married, you will be considered unmarried and eligible
for head of household status if your spouse was not a member of your
household for the last six months of the year and if the household
was the principal place of abode of a child for whom you can claim
an exemption. A widow or widower may not use the head of household
rates in those tax years in which he or she is eligible to use the
joint tax rates under the surviving spouse rules.
A dependent
is considered a "qualifying dependent" if he or she meets any of the
following tests:
- Qualifying Child. Your child (including an adopted child),
stepchild, foster child, or grandchild qualifies if he or she (1)
is under age 19 (or 24 if a full-time student) or permanently disabled;
(2) lived with you for more than one-half of the year (excluding temporary
absences) and (3) did not provide more than one-half of his or her
own support during the year.
If the dependent child is married,
you must be able to claim an exemption for him or her. Also, if you
are the custodial parent of a dependent child, and you meet the other
tests, you may be eligible to claim HOH status, even if your ex-spouse
is entitled to the exemption. Conversely, if you are the non-custodial
parent, you may not claim HOH status solely because you can not claim
an exemption for the child. You must meet all of the tests to qualify.
A dependent child can be a "qualifying child" for only one taxpayer
for HOH status.
- Qualifying Parent. If you can claim your mother or your
father as your dependent on your tax return, then your parent is considered
a qualifying dependent. Your parent does not need to live with you,
but you must be the one qualified to claim the dependency exemption,
not your parent.
- Qualifying Relative. Your brother, sister, half-brother,
half-sister or a descendant of any of them qualifies if he or she
(1) can be claimed as your dependent; and (2) lived with you for more
than one-half of the year (excluding temporary absences.)
There are a few other details to be aware of, regarding
what it means to be:
If you are not married, and you can't qualify as a
head-of-household, you are treated as single for federal income tax
purposes.
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