who should file head of household

Head of household is generally for an unmarried taxpayer who paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying person (usually a child or certain relatives) for over half the year. If you are married and lived with your spouse all year, you typically cannot file as head of household.

What “head of household” means

• It is a special filing status that gives a higher standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets than single status.

• It is designed for people who support and house a qualifying person, such as a child or dependent relative.

Basic rules: who should file

You generally should file as head of household if all of the following are true:

1. You are unmarried or “considered unmarried”
   • You were single, divorced, or legally separated on the last day of the year, or
   • You lived apart from your spouse for the last six months and meet IRS “considered unmarried” rules.

2. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home
   • This includes rent or mortgage, property taxes, utilities, repairs, and food eaten in the home.

 * You must cover more than 50% of these costs for the entire year.

3. You have a qualifying person living with you (with some exceptions)
   • Usually a qualifying child: your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, or a descendant of any of them, who meets age, residency, and support tests.

 * Often must live with you for more than half the year; a key exception is a parent you support who does not have to live with you if you pay more than half of their household costs elsewhere.

Common situations where it fits

• Single parent with kids
  • You are divorced or never married, the children lived with you more than half the year, and you paid more than half the home’s costs.

• Separated or recently divorced spouse
  • You lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year, support the home, and your qualifying child lived with you more than half the year.

• Adult caring for a parent or relative
  • You are unmarried, pay more than half the cost of keeping up your parent’s main home (even if they live in a separate place such as assisted living), and can claim them as a dependent.

When you should NOT file head of household

• You are married and lived with your spouse all year, and do not meet “considered unmarried” rules.

• You did not pay more than half the cost of the home’s upkeep (for example, relatives or a partner covered most bills).

• The person living with you is not a qualifying child or qualifying relative under IRS rules, or you cannot claim them as a dependent.

Why people care about this status

• Head of household status gives a larger standard deduction than single; for example, for 2025 returns filed in 2026, heads of household get a standard deduction of 23,625 dollars versus 15,750 dollars for singles.

• It also uses wider, more favorable tax brackets, which can lower your total tax bill if you qualify.

TL;DR: You should file head of household if you are unmarried (or considered unmarried), you paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and you had a qualifying child or dependent relative in that household for more than half the year (with a special rule for parents).

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.