Contributed by: Henry, FreeTaxUSA Agent, Tax Pro
Using head of household filing status usually gives you a lower tax rate than the rates for single or married filing separately. It also provides you a higher standard deduction. You may be able to file as head of household and take advantage of these benefits if you:
- are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year,
- paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year, and
- had a qualifying person live with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school).
The third requirement can be confusing. What constitutes a qualifying person? If you have someone you can claim as a dependent, does that count? Let’s take a look at the criteria for determining a qualifying person. First, we’ll need to define some terms.
Dependent
A dependent is a qualifying child, or a qualifying relative. Don’t be confused by the term qualifying relative -- it is possible to claim someone as your dependent who’s not related to you, such as a girlfriend or roommate. We’ll provide more clarification below.
Qualifying child
To be a qualifying child, the child must meet these five tests:
- Relationship: The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild or niece).
- Age: The child must be under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly); a student under age 24 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly); or permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.
- Residency: The child must have lived with you for more than half the year. There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, adopted or foster children, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents.
- Support: The child can't have provided more than half of their own support for the year.
- Joint return: The child can't file a joint return for the year, unless that return is filed only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
Qualifying relative
For a person to be your qualifying relative, they must meet these four tests:
- Not a qualifying child: A qualifying relative can be any age, but they can’t be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.
- Member of household or relationship: The person must either live with you all year as a member of your household, or be related to you.
- Gross income: The person's gross income for the year must be less than $5,050.
- Support: You must generally provide more than half of the person's total support during the calendar year.
Qualifying person
Now that we’ve established what the IRS considers a qualifying child or a qualifying relative, we can clarify what makes someone a qualifying person for head of household filing status.
A qualifying person is:
- A qualifying child who is 1) single OR 2) married and you can claim the child as a dependent.
- A qualifying relative who is 1) your father or mother and you can claim as a dependent OR 2) someone else who lived with you more than half the year and is related to you and you can claim as a dependent.
It’s important to note that a qualifying person has to be related to you. Also, a person can’t qualify more than one taxpayer to use head of household filing status for the year.
Our software makes it easy for you to enter your dependent or qualifying person. Follow this menu path: Personal > Dependents and add a dependent. If you aren't sure if someone qualifies, add them, and we'll help you figure it out. We’ll apply the IRS guidelines based on the information you provide.
Examples
Here’s some scenarios to illustrate what to expect in various situations.
Example #1: Cooper, your unmarried child, lived with you all year and was 17 years old at the end of the year. You provided more than half of his support, and he isn't a qualifying child of anyone else. Cooper is your qualifying child, and he’s your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Example #2: The facts are the same as in Example #1, except Cooper was 26 years old at the end of the year and his Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) was $6,500. Cooper doesn’t meet the age test to be your qualifying child, and he doesn’t meet the gross income test to be your qualifying relative. Thus, he isn’t your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Example #3: Your girlfriend, Scarlett, lived with you all year. Even though Scarlett may be your qualifying relative if the gross income and support tests are met, she isn’t your qualifying person for head of household purposes because she isn’t related to you.
Example #4: The facts are the same as in Example #3, except you and Scarlett have a 2-year-old child together who lived with you all year. Only one parent may claim the child as a qualifying child to file as head of household. Both you and Scarlett contribute to the cost of maintaining the home. However, to file as head of household you must furnish over one-half of the cost of keeping up a home for the year. Thus, only one of the parents will have contributed more than one-half of the cost and can use that filing status.
Example #5: Your son, Campbell, and his 5-year-old daughter lived with you all year. Campbell was 38 years old at the end of the year and his AGI was $22,000. Your AGI was $64,000. Campbell doesn’t meet the age test to be your qualifying child, and he doesn’t meet the gross income test to be your qualifying relative. Thus, he isn’t your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Campbell’s daughter is a qualifying child of both you and Campbell, but the IRS tiebreaker rules allow the parent to claim the tax benefits of a qualifying child. The IRS doesn’t allow you to divide up the tax benefits of having a qualifying child between you. Campbell plans to claim his daughter as a dependent, so she isn’t your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Example #6: The facts are the same as in Example #5, except Campbell agrees to let you claim his daughter as a dependent. This is allowed because your AGI is higher than Campbell’s. Campbell removes his daughter from his own tax return, and you claim all the tax benefits of having a qualifying child, including using your granddaughter as a qualifying person for head of household filing status.
Example #7: You and Lincoln are divorced. Your daughter, Eloise, lived with you most of the time and only stayed with Lincoln on weekends. This makes you the custodial parent and Lincoln the noncustodial parent. The divorce decree allows Lincoln to claim Eloise as a dependent on his tax return. Eloise is a qualifying child for both you and Lincoln. As the custodial parent, you are the one who can claim Eloise as a qualifying person for head of household filing status. In this situation, Lincoln can claim Eloise as a dependent but can’t use Eloise as a qualifying person to claim the head of household filing status on his return.
Example #8: The facts are the same as in Example #7, except that Eloise lived with Lincoln more than half the year, so he is the custodial parent. Lincoln claims all the tax benefits of having a qualifying child, including using Eloise as a qualifying person for head of household filing status. You remove Eloise from your tax return completely.
Example #9: You claim your father, Steve, as a dependent. Steve lives in an apartment by himself. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up Steve’s apartment for the year. Steve is your qualifying person for head of household purposes.
Hopefully, the rules surrounding a qualifying person for head of household filing status are clearer now. For more information and examples, refer to IRS Publication 501.