Head Of Household

Head of household

WHO CAN USE IT:

Typically, unmarried people who paid more than half the cost to keep up a home for the year and provided most or all the support for at least one other person for more than half the year.

HOW IT WORKS:

It’s not arbitrary. You can’t use this tax filing status if you’re simply the one who “wears the pants” in your family or makes the most money. In the eyes of the IRS, this filing status is only for unmarried people who have to support others.

There are rules about being unmarried. The IRS considers you unmarried if you’re not legally married. But you can also be considered unmarried for this purpose if your spouse didn’t live in your home for the last six months of the tax year (temporary absences don’t count), you paid more than half the cost of keeping up the house, and that house was your child’s main home. The cost of keeping up a home includes the property taxes, mortgage interest or rent, utilities, repairs and maintenance, property insurance, food and other household expenses.

There are rules about kids. Speaking of children, to use this filing status, there also has to be a “qualifying person” involved. In general, that can be a child under 19, or under 24 if the kid’s a student, who lives in your house for more than half the year. It can also be your mother or father, and in that case, mom or dad doesn’t have to live with you — you just have to prove you provide at least half their support. In some situations, your siblings and in-laws also count if you provide at least half their support. Be sure to read IRS Publication 17 for specifics.

Your tax filing status can have a big effect on your bank account and your patience.

WHAT IT GETS YOU:

This filing status gets you bigger tax deductions and more leeway on exemptions than if you just filed single. The standard deduction for single status is $12,000 in 2018 — but it’s $18,000 for head of household.