Get your taxes done using TurboTax

The head of household must pay for more than 1/2 of the household costs.

 

To file as head of household, you must:

• Pay for more than half of the household expenses
• Be considered unmarried for the tax year, and
• You must have a qualifying child or dependent.

Qualifying costs include expenses like rent or mortgage interest payments—although not the principal portion of your mortgage payments because that's paying back your loan. They include property taxes, property insurance, repairs, utilities, and groceries.

You need to keep records of your spending and of the household costs to prove that you paid more than 50% of the costs.

Head of Household