I have received a number of questions regarding Head of Household filing status. There seems to be a lot of misconceptions and misinformation out there regarding this specific filing status. Let's take a closer look:

In order to qualify for Head of Household filing status, the following five tests MUST ALL be met:

1. The taxpayer is not married at the end of the year. (There are exceptions to this rule that I'll discuss at the end of this post).
2. The taxpayer must maintain a household for his or her child, dependent parent, or other dependent relative. (See notes below for additional discussion of dependents.)
3. The household must be the taxpayer's home, and the household must also be the main home of a qualifying relative (as defined in #2 above) for more than half of 1996. (Again, see the notes below for additional discussion of a qualifying individual). There is an exception to this rule: A dependent parent need not live with the taxpayer; however, the taxpayer must provide more than 50% of the cost of maintaining the dependent parent's separate household that was the parent's main home for the entire year.
4. The taxpayer must provide more than 50% of the cost of maintaining the household.
5. The taxpayer must be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien during the entire tax year.

** Notes on Dependents
and Qualifying Individuals (Items 2 and 3):

A. Cousins do not qualify as a dependent relative.
B. The taxpayer's unmarried child, stepchild, adopted child, or grandchild do not have to be a dependent.
C. A foster child must be a dependent.
D. With respect to the taxpayer's married child, stepchild, adopted child, or grandchild, the taxpayer must be entitled to claim that child as a dependent.
E. Make sure to check the other dependent rules to ensure that any individual in question does, in fact, qualify under the normal dependent rules.

***Exceptions That Allow Married Taxpayers
to Claim Head of Household Status:

A married taxpayer living apart from a spouse may qualify as "unmarried" and use the Head of Household rates if ALL of the following tests are met:

A. Taxpayer files a separate tax return from the spouse.
B. Taxpayer's spouse did not live in the household during the last six months of the year.
C. Taxpayer maintains his/her home as a household that was the main home for a child, stepchild, or adopted child for more than half of the year. However, a foster child must be a member of the household for the entire year.
D. Taxpayer is entitled to claim that child as a dependent.
E. Taxpayer provides more than 50% of the cost of maintaining that household.
F. Taxpayer is a U.S. citizen or a resident alien during the entire tax year.

These are the basics of the Head of Household filing status. As you can see, it can get a little complicated.

For information on other types of filing status, see "Filing Status."

- Article 15

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