Head of Household (HOH) is a filing status chosen on tax returns to get standard deduction of $19,400 for tax year 2022. A taxpayer can choose to file head of household filing status if married or unmarried, but should be taking care of the home or qualified person’s expenses.
Filing head of the household filing status will put you into lower tax rate, when it is compared with single or married filing separate filing status.
Who Can File Head of Household?
- The taxpayer should be legally separated, single, divorced, or should have been considered unmarried before December 31st of a calendar year.
- The taxpayers qualified dependent should have lived with the taxpayer for more than 6 months.
- The taxpayer should have paid at least 6 months of household expenses out of 12 months period of a tax year.
- Filing separate tax returns instead of filing married filing jointly tax return.
- Did not live with the spouse for more than 6 months.
- Meeting the expenses of a home which is main residence of a qualifying child, foster child or stepchild for more than a 6 months of a tax year.
What are the Eligible Household Expenses?
Below are the expenses considered under household expenses.
- Mortgage interest, Rent and property taxes.
- Repairs, utilities, home insurance and food expenses incurred at home.
- Medical treatment, vacations, life insurance, clothing and transportation.
What kind of expenses is not allowed in head of household filing status?
Costs of medical treatment, education, cost on clothing, life insurance, transport and life insurance.
Who is qualified person to be claimed on head of household tax returns?
- Qualified child according to the IRS guidelines
- A parent who is depending on the taxpayer
When are you considered unmarried?
A taxpayer is considered unmarried or married on or before 31st December Calendar Year if meeting below tests.
- Filing separate tax returns.
- Spent more than 50% of the expenses for keeping the house of a tax year.
- Your spouse did not live with you for more the 6 months.
- Your child, foster child and step child lived with you in your main home.
- You should be able to claim dependent exemption as per IRS rules.
If a taxpayer is non-resident cannot claim spouse as a dependent for head of the household purposes, but can claim other qualified person if meeting the test.
Who Can be Claimed as a Qualified Person on Head of the Household Filing Status?
- Tax payer’s unmarried son or daughter, grandchild under 18 years lived with you for at least for six months on or before 31st December of a year, and you incurred at least six months of the dependents expenses.
- Qualified relatives can be your Brother, half brother, Sister, Half Sister, Step Sister, Grandparent, Father and Mother, direct ancestor, Step Father and Step Mother, lived with you for more than six months.
- Relative can be foster parent, daughter or son of your brother or sister, sister or brother of your mother or father, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, brother- in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law.
- Taxpayer can claim Father and Mother on tax returns though they did not stay with the taxpayers, but you should have paid more than six months of their expenses.
- Taxpayers can file head of the housed filing status by claiming new born or a dependent that died in a tax year.
- If a taxpayer is filing a married filing joint tax return, the person/persons claimed should be related to both or either of the taxpayers.
- A person can be claimed on a tax returns for head of the household purposes, if either or both the taxpayers did not stay with the dependent because of vacation, Business, Illness, Education, detention of juvenile facility and vacation.
Who is cannot be considered as a qualified person on head of the household filing status?
- You cannot claim a non relative dependent if he or she is married.
- A dependent (he/she) did not live with you for at least six months.
Is SSN (Social Security Number) mandatory to claim dependent on HOH Status?
In order to claim a Qualified dependent on your tax returns for head of the household filing status, your dependent should have SSN (Social Security Number), if you are not able to get SSN for your dependents then you can apply ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number or ATIN (Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number).
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Tax brackets for Head of Household (HOH) 2022 Filing Status ?
| INCOME | TAX |
| Up to $14,650 | 10% on Taxable Income |
| $14,651 up to $55,900 | $1,465+ 12% additional tax over the income of $14,650 |
| $55,901 up to $89,050 | $6,415 + 22% of additional tax over the income of $55,900 |
| $89,051 up to $170,050 | $13,708 + 24% of additional tax over the income of $89,050 |
| $170,051 up to $215,950 | $33,148.50 + 32% of additional tax over the income of $164,900 |
| $215,951 up to $539,900 | $46,385+ 35% of additional tax over the income of $209,400 |
| $539,900 and Over | $156,355 + 37% of additional tax over the income of $523,600 |