Some Taxpayers Qualify for More Favorable “Head of Household” Tax Filing Status
When preparing your tax return, we’ll check one of the following statuses: Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow(er). Filing a return as a head of household is more favorable than filing as a single taxpayer.
For example, the 2023 standard deduction for a single taxpayer is $13,850 while it’s $20,800 for a head of household taxpayer. To be eligible, you must maintain a household, which for more than half the year, is the principal home of a “qualifying child” or other relative of yours whom you can claim as a dependent.
Basic rules
Who is a qualifying child? This is a child who:
- Lives in your home for more than half the year,
- Is your child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, sibling, stepsibling (or a descendant of any of these),
- Is under age 19 (or a student under 24), and
- Doesn’t provide over half of his or her own support for the year.
If the parents are divorced, the child will qualify if he or she meets these tests for the custodial parent — even if that parent released his or her right to a dependency exemption for the […]