Head of Household Filing Status

Use the HOHucator tax tool below to find out by answering a few simple questions if you qualify as the Head of Household filing status on your tax return. Generally, head of household is the best filing status for single parents or singles in general with qualifying relatives as dependents.

Once you have determined that you can file as Head of Household, start your return on eFile.com and select the head of household status when you begin the tax interview. The eFile Tax App will automatically apply the higher standard deduction and help reduce your taxes as you enter your income and other tax information.

Each new tax season begins in January following a given tax year. Prepare and e-file your taxes due by Tax Day, April 15 on eFile.com; it's less taxing! Prepare to prepare with this tax-related checklist. If you miss the April deadline, you have until mid October to e-file your return; after that, e-filing will close for the given tax year.

Head of
Household

Let's look closer into the filing status HOH. Firstly, what is a HOH? Could you be a HOH? Do you qualify as or do you want to be a HOH?

Is a HOH someone who dates everyone but you? Something Santa Claus says three times? Is it a river named after a Native American tribe? How about an expression commonly used after "Heave?"

It might be all of those things... but the HOH we're talking about is a head of household. It's a great tax return filing status that can pay off when you e-file your tax return as it has a higher standard deduction and can help you qualify for more tax savings.

Claim Head of Household

You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year, or Dec. 31.
You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the tax year
A qualifying person or relative lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school).
However, if the qualifying person is your dependent parent, your dependent parent doesn't have to live with you.

Attention: Compared to the single filing status, the head of household filing status will get you lower tax rates and a higher standard deduction. It will also help you qualify more easily for tax credits. Many singles with dependents qualify as heads of household - use this free DEPENDucator to see who you can claim on your return. Additionally, other unmarried people and, with some exception, legally married people with dependents might qualify as head of household. Generally, to qualify to file as a head of household, you have to be unmarried and you have to support a dependent or qualifying relative. To find out the best filing status for you, calculate your refund or balance due by using our free tax refund calculator.

Exceptions:

If you live apart from your spouse and meet certain requirements - even if you aren't divorced or legally separated - you might file as head of household. Should you qualify to file as head of household instead of as married filing separately, your standard deduction will be higher. Plus, your tax amount overall may be lower, and you might be able to claim the earned income credit.
Even if you were married at the end of a tax year and one spouse is a US citizen or resident and the other spouse is a nonresident alien, you can choose to treat the nonresident as a US resident. This also includes cases if one of you is a US nonresident alien at the beginning of the tax year, but a resident alien at the end of the tax year while the other other is a nonresident alien at the end of the year. If you treat your nonresident alien spouse as a US resident alien, you may be able to use head of household filing status. As head of household, you must pay more than half the cost of maintaining a household for certain dependents or relatives other than your nonresident alien spouse.

Who Is a Qualifying Person?

It can be tricky to figure out if someone is your qualifying person. If you have a dependent, they might or might not also count as your qualifying person. A dependent is not always a qualifying person and you don't necessarily have to claim a qualifying person as a dependent.

Confused? Don't worry, we've made it easy for you! Just use the free head of household tool on this page. Then, prepare and e-file with eFile.com and let the tax app select the best filing status for you.

How to File as Head of Household

If you live apart from your spouse and meet certain requirements - even if you aren't divorced or legally separated - you might file as head of household. In the case you qualify as HOH instead of as married filing separately, your standard deduction will be higher, your tax may be lower, and you may be able to claim the Earned Income Credit.

Find out how to file as head of household and see detailed requirements to file as HOH; see more details on IRS filing statuses.

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