You can qualify for Head of Household if you:
- Were unmarried as of December 31, 2020 and
- Paid more than half the cost to run your (or a qualifying parent's) home this year (rent, mortgage, utilities, etc.) and
- Supported a qualifying person.
If you were still legally married as of December 31, 2020 and a child lives with you, you can qualify for Head of Household under a slightly different set of rules.
Even if you were legally married as of December 31, you are considered unmarried (and therefore eligible for Head of Household) if all 5 of these conditions apply:
- You won't be filing jointly with your spouse
- Your spouse didn't live in your home after June (temporary absences due to illness, school, vacation, business, or military service don't count)
- Your home was your child's, stepchild's, or foster child's main home for more than half the year (non-child dependents in your home don't qualify)
- You paid more than half the costs of keeping up your home during the tax year
- You meet the qualifications to claim the child as your dependent, even if the other (noncustodial) parent is actually claiming the child as a dependent on their return
You can also be considered unmarried for Head of Household if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the tax year and you're not treating them as a resident alien.
After you answer all the questions about yourself and your dependents at the beginning of your return, we'll let you know if your situation qualifies for Head of Household.
You can also revisit these questions by selecting
- My Info (online) or
- Personal Info (software), and then
- select Edit next to your name or your dependent's.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
