Are You a Head of Household?
Next to the joint return rates, the best tax rate schedule applies to single taxpayers who qualify for head of household (HOH) status.
However, some complicated rules determine whether you are eligible to file as an HOH. Whether you are divorced or have never been married is not important; what is important is that you maintain a home for one or more of your children or dependent relatives.
If you are not married, and you can't qualify as a head-of-household, you are treated as single for federal income tax purposes.
You can qualify for HOH status if you meet all of the following conditions:
- You are unmarried at the end of the tax year.
- You paid more than one-half of the cost of maintaining a home for year.
- You had at least one "qualifying dependent" for the year.
A dependent is considered a "qualifying dependent" if he or she meets any of the following tests:
- Qualifying Child. Your child (including an adopted child), stepchild, foster child, or grandchild qualifies if he or she (1) is under age 19 (or 24 if a full-time student) or permanently disabled; (2) lived with you for more than one-half of the year (excluding temporary absences) and (3) did not provide more than one-half of his or her own support during the year.
If the dependent child is married, you must be able to claim an exemption for him or her. Also, if you are the custodial parent of a dependent child, and you meet the other tests, you may be eligible to claim HOH status, even if your ex-spouse is entitled to the exemption. Conversely, if you are the non-custodial parent, you may not claim HOH status solely because you can not claim an exemption for the child. You must meet all of the tests to qualify. A dependent child can be a "qualifying child" for only one taxpayer for HOH status.
- Qualifying Parent. If you can claim your mother or your father as your dependent on your tax return, then your parent is considered a qualifying dependent. Your parent does not need to live with you, but you must be the one qualified to claim the dependency exemption, not your parent.
- Qualifying Relative. Your brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister or a descendant of any of them qualifies if he or she (1) can be claimed as your dependent; and (2) lived with you for more than one-half of the year (excluding temporary absences.)
There are a few other details to be aware of, regarding what it means to be:
If you are not married, and you can't qualify as a head-of-household, you are treated as single for federal income tax purposes.
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