Head Of Household

Quick Summary of Head Of Household

Under US federal income tax law, you are eligible for favorable tax treatment as the head of household only if you are unmarried and you manage a household which is the principal residence (for more than half of the year) of dependent children or other dependent relatives. Under bankruptcy homestead and exemption laws, the terms householder and “head of household” mean the same thing. Examples include a single woman supporting her disabled sister and her own children or a bachelor supporting his parents. Many states consider a single person supporting only himself to be a head of household as well.

Head of Household is a Filing Status (federal income tax) for individual American taxpayers.

Generally, to qualify for head of household status you must be unmarried, not entitled to file as a qualifying widow or widower, and have a dependent child. You must also have provided more than half the cost of maintaining, as your home, a household that was the main home for a qualifying dependent. You may also qualify for head of household status if you, though married, file a separate return and your spouse was not a member of your household during the last six months of the tax year and you provided more than half of the cost of maintaining, as your home, a household that was the main home, for more than one half of your tax year, of a child who is a qualifying dependent. A taxpayer should also bear in mind that the definition of “head of household” contains a lot of exceptions and other rules.

Advantages To Qualifying As A “Head Of Household”

Someone who qualifies as a head of household uses the tax table in §1(b) of the IRS code. This table contains a wider Tax bracket than unmarried individuals. A head of household also can deduct a larger Personal Exemption (federal income tax).

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