Head of household

[nportales]

If we are married before the end of the year and are filing married jointly, does one of us need to claim head of household? Who would that be? 

[drc845443 · Accepted solution]

If you are married at the end of the year, you generally cannot file as Head of household.  Normally, you can either file as Married Filing Jointly (if you are filing together as in your case) or Married Filing Separately (if you decide to file separate tax returns).

It is only in limited circumstances that a married person can file a tax return as Head of Household. Please see the link below which list the conditions that a married person must meet in order to qualify to claim as Head of Household:

Can a married person claim Head of Household filing status? (intuit.com)