I was head of household for the last 5 months of 2017 - not the other 7. Can I still file as head of household?

[wolfeloric]

My child's father and I split at the beginning of August. Prior to that, he covered 100% of household expenses. I moved to my own apartment in August and cover 100% of expenses of this home. Does head of household need to be for the entire tax year?

[TomD8 · Accepted solution]

The rule is this:  to file as HOH, you must be unmarried (or considered unmarried) and have paid over half the cost of keeping up a home in which you and a qualifying child or dependent lived for more than half of the year.

Also, if legally married, you and your husband must have lived apart for the last 6 months of the year.

Therefore, if you were still legally married as of the last day of the year, your filing choices are limited to MFJ or MFS.