What is the difference between married and head of household

Suspecting abuse, Congress recently required tax preparers to get documentation that qualifies someone to be a head of household. To claim head-of-household status, you must be legally single, pay more than half of household expenses and have either a qualified dependent living with you for at least half the year or a parent for whom you pay more than half their living arrangements.

VIDEO There are three key requirements to qualify as a head of household: You are unmarried, recently divorced or legally separated from a spouse. That means you must have lived in a residence apart from your spouse for at least the last six months of the year. A separation because one spouse is away at school, working elsewhere or undertaking military service does not qualify.

You have to file a separate tax return from your spouse even if you are still legally married. You must pay more than half of the household expenses for the year in question. Per IRS Publication , those costs include rent, mortgage interest payments, property taxes and insurance, maintenance, utilities and groceries. Expenses such as clothing, education, medical treatment, vacations, life insurance and transportation are not included.

This means that you must have paid more than half of the total household bills, including rent or mortgage, utility bills, insurance, property taxes , groceries, repairs and other common household expenses. If you receive financial assistance toward your household expenses from a parent or other individual, you can still qualify to file as head of household as long as you are paying for more than 50 percent of the bills with your own earnings, savings, or capital.

The IRS also requires all taxpayers who file as head of household to be "considered unmarried" as of the last day of the tax year. To be considered unmarried means:.

Keep in mind that if you and your spouse lived in separate homes due to a temporary circumstance, such as military service , business trips, a stay in a medical treatment facility, or attendance at college , the IRS still considers you married for that tax year.

The requirement for a qualifying child or dependent extends beyond just your own son or daughter. To be considered a qualifying child, the child must meet the criteria in each of the following categories:.

In some cases, you may be eligible to file as head of household even if you are unable to claim your child as a dependent. For divorced or separated parents, if the child lived in your home for more than half of the year, you may file as head of household, even if the divorce or separation agreement gives the other parent the right to claim the child as a dependent.

If your dependent does not meet the criteria to be a qualifying child, you may still qualify to file as head of household. The following relatives are considered qualifying dependents for the head of household filing status as long as you provided more than half of her financial support and she lived with you for more than half of the year:. Even if your father or mother did not live with you for more than half of the tax year, you may still qualify to file as head of household.

If you paid for more than half of the living expenses for your parent's main home throughout the entire tax year and you are eligible to claim them as a dependent , then you may file as head of household.

Remember, with TurboTax , we'll ask you simple questions about your life and help you fill out all the right tax forms. Whether you have a simple or complex tax situation, we've got you covered. Feel confident doing your own taxes. Just answer simple questions about your life, and TurboTax Free Edition will take care of the rest.

For Simple Tax Returns Only. What is the IRS Form ? If the family refuses to do this, they will not be eligible for aid, as federal rules prohibit the school from disbursing aid until conflicting information is resolved. Guidance from the US Department of Education has indicated that the school is expected to require the filing of an amended income tax return when there is an apparent error on the income tax return that affects student aid eligibility.

Publication 17 explains on pp. Resolution of the conflict may be a reasonable explanation of why there appears to be a conflict but is none, or the parents may refile and submit a copy of the amended return. Head of household status is singled out for special mention because many tax preparers incorrectly encourage taxpayers to file with this status.

Most married couples who file as head of household do so incorrectly. IRS failure to enforce the correct filing status is irrelevant. With regard to the qualifying person, temporary absences due to school, military duty, illness, business travel or vacations do not prevent one from counting the individual as a qualifying person.

Likewise, there are exceptions for a dependent parent who does not live in the home.