Yes.If you were still legally married as of December 31, you
are both 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; and
- Your spouse didn't live in
your home after June (temporary absences due to illness, school, vacation,
business, or military service don't count); and
- Your home was your child's,
stepchild's, or foster child's main home for more than half the
year; and
- You paid more than half the
costs of keeping up your home during the tax year; and
- 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.
Married filers who are "considered unmarried" cannot
file with Head of Household status if their dependent is somebody other than a
child, for example a parent.
Also, if one spouse doesn't qualify to be "considered unmarried", their only filing status option is Married Filing Separately.
