Tax Filing Status: Head of Household

Filing taxes as Head of Household in 2024

The Head of Household status provides a larger standard deduction and better tax rates for calculating federal income tax compared to filing as Single. This can mean you’ll pay less in taxes.

What are the 5 filing statuses?

Your filing status determines your standard deduction, your tax rate and the credits you are eligible for, and how much of the credit you can claim.

You also use your current tax filing status to properly fill out an IRS Form W-4, which is the standard tax form used by employers to know how much federal tax to withhold from the employee’s paycheck.

And you need to know your filing status when it comes time to file your taxes, so that you can file a tax return complete with all your allowed deductions and credits, to maximize your refund.

Before we dive into Head of Household, let’s go over the 5 tax filing statuses the IRS recognizes.

• Single
• Married Filing Jointly
• Married Filing Separately
• Head of Household
• Qualifying Surviving Spouse

You can fall into more than one filing status (for example, if you’re married, you’re both able to file jointly or separately), so it’s best to go with the status that could offer the maximum deductions and credits you’d qualify for.

What does Head of Household filing status mean?

The Head of Household filing status includes single parents and divorced or legally separated parents with custody of the child. In addition, you can also be an adult who provides support for a parent or other relative under qualifying circumstances.

Your qualifying person would have to live with you for more than 183 days in the year. You must have paid more than 50% of the costs for maintaining a home. You also have to be a U.S. citizen or legal resident for the whole year.

Can I claim Head of Household without dependents?

Much of this answer is about your specific circumstances. You may still qualify for Head of Household filing status even though you aren't entitled to claim your child as a dependent, if you meet the following requirements:

• You're not married, or you’re considered unmarried on the last day of the year.
• You paid more than half of the cost of keeping up a home, that was your home and the main home of your child for more than one-half of the year.
• Your child is your qualifying child for purposes other than the child tax credit.

2023 standard deductions for Head of Household filers

As mentioned above, the standard deduction you’d be eligible for depends on your filing status. The Head of Household standard deduction in 2023 jumped to $20,800 from $19,400 in 2022. It’s the second-highest standard deduction that the IRS allows.

Below are the standard deductions for 2023.

What is the difference between Head of Household and Single filing status?

As seen in the chart above, the Head of Household filing status has a higher standard deduction amount than filing Single, but not as favorable as Married Filing Jointly. Head of Household filers can have a lower taxable income and greater potential refund than when using the Single filing status.

As always, work with your tax professional on what filing status is right for you and your family. You want to make sure that you’re accurately reflecting your specific situation.

Advantages of filing as the Head of Household

Filing as Head of Household gives you a higher standard deduction and can put you in a more favorable tax bracket than filing Single, which are two main advantages if you do indeed qualify for Head of Household. In addition, many tax credits have a higher threshold than filing as single allows,

We’ll delve into a little background on tax brackets to give more color on why head of household may be more favorable.

The 2023 tax year—the return you'll file in 2024—will have the same seven federal income tax brackets as the 2022-2023 season, that’s the percentage of tax you pay on your income 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%, which are the income tax percentages. Your filing status and taxable income are used to figure out which bracket you're in.

The tax brackets are part of a progressive tax system, meaning each new bracket builds on the earlier one. For example, if a Single taxpayer has a taxable income in the 22% tax bracket, it’s not all taxed at that rate. Instead, the first $11,000 is taxed at 10%, from $11,001 to $44,725 at 12% and the remaining income after $44,275 at 22%. The amounts for each tax bracket are added together for the full income tax amount.

What happens if you file using the wrong filing status?

You’ll want to work with a Tax Pro on what filing status works best for you. It’s important to note that you cannot claim the Head of Household status for being the one who makes the most money or makes the decisions in your family.

As outlined earlier in the article, to the IRS, you must be unmarried and have a dependent to qualify. A single parent with a 16-year-old dependent child living at home is a good example of a Head of Household status.

You always want to make sure your tax return is as accurate as possible. Making an error will only delay your refund and could result in penalties and added interest. You want to make sure you are claiming all the deductions and credits, so you can pay the lowest taxes or get the biggest refund.

No matter what filing status you choose, our Tax Pros are here for you, during tax time and throughout the year. Find a local Tax Pro today.

About the Author

Mark Steber is Senior Vice President and Chief Tax Information Officer for Jackson Hewitt. With over 30 years of experience, he oversees tax service delivery, quality assurance and tax law adherence. Mark is Jackson Hewitt’s national spokesperson and liaison to the Internal Revenue Service and other government authorities. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), holds registrations in Alabama and Georgia, and is an expert on consumer income taxes including electronic tax and tax data protection.

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