Head of household (HOH) filing status allows you to file at a lower tax rate and a higher standard deduction than the filing status of single.
Generally, to qualify for head of household filing status, you must be able to claim a qualifying child or qualifying relative as a dependent. However, a custodial parent may be eligible to claim head of household filing status based on a child even if the custodial parent released a claim to exemption for the child.
No. In order to claim head of household, you have to have a dependent. Without a dependent, if you are not married, you would only be able to file as single. Even if you are providing for your family, it only counts if they are able to be claimed on your tax return as dependents.
To file as head of household, you must pass three tests: the filing status test, the qualifying person test, and the cost of keeping up a home test.
To qualify as the head of household, you must also be considered unmarried for tax purposes. This typically means you're either single, divorced or legally separated.
Your eligibility for each status hinges largely on your marital and dependents situation. Single filing status usually applies to unmarried taxpayers without dependents who live with them. Head of household is for unmarried taxpayers supporting dependents, like minor children, who live with them for most of the year.
Single filer status is for unmarried people who do not qualify for another filing status. Most single people who can claim qualifying widow(er) or head of household status will find it advantageous to file under that status rather than as a single filer.
There can't be two Head of Households per household. This is because of the requirement that the Head of Household paid more than 50% of the total household expenses. Two people in one household can't both pay more than 50%. There can be two households per home.
You can't claim yourself as a dependent on taxes. Tax dependency is applicable to your qualifying dependent children and relatives only.
Head-of-household filers also benefit from a higher standard deduction. For the 2025 tax year, the deduction for single filers is $15,000, but it climbs over 50% more to $22,500 for those filing head of household.
Your significant other earned less than $5,050 for 2024.
According to the IRS dependent rules, your boyfriend or girlfriend must have earned less than $5,050 for the 2024 tax year if you want to claim them as a dependent.
Claiming 1 reduces the amount of taxes that are withheld from weekly paychecks, so you get more money now with a smaller refund. Claiming 0 allowances may be a better option if you'd rather receive a larger lump sum of money in the form of your tax refund.
As seen in the chart above, the Head of Household filing status has a higher standard deduction amount than filing Single, but not as favorable as Married Filing Jointly. Head of Household filers can have a lower taxable income and greater potential refund than when using the Single filing status.
Married filing jointly is the most common filing status for married couples. This status has the highest standard deduction and some of the most beneficial tax rate brackets. You file together and report combined income, along with your combined deductions and qualifying credits on the same return.
For example, if you filed as a single taxpayer last year, but now realize you qualified for head of household, you need to make the change on an IRS Form 1040-X. When you change this status, you not only obtain a larger standard deduction, but your income for that year is subject to lower tax rates.
head of household: How it affects your tax return. Head of household offers wider tax brackets, a bigger standard deduction and faster eligibility for other write-offs. However, you must be unmarried and pay more than half the cost to maintain a home for a "qualifying person," according to the IRS.
If you were married or an RDP as of the last day of the year, and you lived with your spouse/RDP at any time during the last six months of the year, you cannot qualify for the head of household filing status.
If you met the requirements to file as head of household but filed as single instead, don't worry; you didn't do anything wrong. However, you're likely leaving a lot of money on the table that could go toward maximizing your refund or reducing your tax liability.
If you are single, unmarried, live alone and pay 100% of the bills can you claim head of household? NO ... you must have a qualifying dependent on your return.
Which taxpayers pay income tax at the highest rates and the lowest rates? (The highest tax rates apply to taxpayers who use the married filing separately filing status. The lowest tax rates apply to taxpayers who use either the married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse filing status.)
Even if you're married now as you're preparing your return, it's your marriage status from the last day of last year that matters. In other words, if you weren't married on Dec. 31, 2024, you can use the single filing status.
Single people often face higher income tax rates than married couples filing together. Of course, this depends on your specific income level, but the respective tax brackets have much wider income ranges for married filers than singles.
If you are not claiming a home as your own, but if you pay rent on the property and live in it for at least half of the year, then yes, you can file your taxes as head of household and potentially claim tax deductions for rental property.