Yes, you can change from filing Single to Head of Household if you qualify to file the Head of Household filing status. The rules are the same for 2020 as they were for 2019 in this area of taxation.
In order to file Head of Household filing status, you must:
- Be unmarried or "considered" unmarried per tax guidelines on the last day of the year
- Paid more than half the costs of maintaining a home for the year
- Support a qualifying person
For the purposes of the Head of Household filing status, a qualifying person is a child, parent, or relative who meets certain conditions, listed below.
A qualifying child would be:
- Your child (including legally adopted), stepchild, foster child, sibling, half-sibling, step-sibling, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild or niece) AND
- Permanently and totally disabled OR under the age of 19 as of December 31, 2020 (under 24 if a full-time student) and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) AND
- Lived with you for more than half the year AND
- Single (or if the child is married, you'd have to qualify to claim them as a dependent even if you're not going to claim them as such).
A child that is too old to qualify as a child might be able to qualify as a relative for Head of Household. A qualifying relative would be:
- Your mother or father, if you're qualified to claim them as a dependent (even if you're not claiming them as such) OR
- A relative related by blood, legal adoption, or marriage other than a parent (child, sibling, grandparent, nephew, aunt, step-parent, in-law, etc.) AND lived with you for more than half the year AND that you're able to claim as a dependent (even if you're not claiming them as such).
If you do not have a qualifying person, then you cannot file head of household filing status.
