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What Is Head of Household (HOH)?
Filing your tax return using the head of household (HOH) filing status provides a higher standard deduction and lower tax rates but there are numerous qualifying rules. You must support and provide a home for a qualifying dependent and you must be considered unmarried and pay more than half the cost of supporting your home.
Key Takeaways
- Head of household is a filing status on tax returns used by unmarried taxpayers who support and house a qualifying person.
- A taxpayer must file an individual tax return, be considered unmarried, and have a qualifying child or dependent to qualify for head of household (HOH) filing status,
- The HOH must pay for more than one-half of the qualifying person’s support and housing costs.
- The purpose of the HOH filing status is to provide single or separated individuals with dependents a financial boost.
Understanding Head of Household (HOH)
Head of household is a filing status available to taxpayers who meet certain qualifying criteria.
They must file individual tax returns, be considered unmarried, and have a qualifying dependent such as a child or parent. The HOH must pay more than one-half the cost of supporting the qualifying person and more than one-half the cost of maintaining that person’s primary home.
The IRS provides a breakdown of what constitutes a qualifying person in Table 4 of Publication 501.
Head of Household vs. Single
There are some significant tax advantages to filing as head of household rather than single:
- The tax brackets are wider for people who file as head of household. Single filers hit the 12% bracket with $11,600 in income in 2024. They hit the 22% tax bracket with income of $47,150 up to $100,525. These thresholds increase to $16,550 and $63,100 up to $100,500 for head of household filers.
- There's a larger standard deduction for people filing as head of household. You can earn more money before you start paying taxes on it. The standard deduction for people filing singly is $14,600 in tax year 2024. This increases to $21,900 for HOH filers.
HOH Qualifying Rules
The taxpayer must be single, divorced, or regarded as unmarried to qualify for HOH status. Married taxpayers would be regarded as unmarried if they didn't live with their spouse at any time during the last six months of the tax year. The status also requires that the HOH meet one of these two requirements:
- The HOH is married to a nonresident alien whom they elect not to treat as a resident alien.
- The HOH is legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree by the last day of the tax year.
Married taxpayers are considered unmarried if they haven't lived with their spouse for the last six months of the tax year.
An HOH must pay more than one-half of the cost of a qualifying person’s support and housing costs. Housing costs include rent or mortgage, utilities, repairs, insurance, taxes, and other costs of maintaining the home where the qualifying person lives for more than half the year.
The home must be the taxpayer’s own home unless the qualifying person is the taxpayer’s parent and the home is the property of that parent.
It's still possible to file as head of household if your qualifying person is a parent who lives at another address provided that they're dependent on you and you cover more than half the cost of keeping up their home.
The enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) resulted in the suspension of the personal exemption for dependents through 2025. HOH filers had to be able to claim an exemption for their qualifying person when this tax provision was in effect. Taxpayers could release their exemption to a noncustodial parent in a divorce proceeding or a legal separation agreement and remain eligible to file as an HOH, however.
HOH Tax Example
An HOH filer receives a standard deduction of $21,900 in tax year 2024, reducing $70,000 in taxable income to $48,100. Of that amount, $16,550 will be taxed at 10%, and $31,550 at 12%, bringing the total tax bill to $1,655 + $3,786 = $5,441.
A taxpayer filing as single or married filing separately qualifies for a standard deduction of $14,600 in 2024, reducing their taxable income from $70,000 to $55,400 of which $11,600 will be taxed at 10%, $35,550 at 12%, and the remaining $8,250 at 22%. This results in a total tax bill of $1,160 + $4,266 + $1,815 = $7,241.
Filing as head of household saved this taxpayer $1,800.
| 2024 Tax Brackets for Single Filers, Married Couples Filing Jointly, and Heads of Households | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Tax Rate | For Single Filers | For Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns | For Heads of Households |
| 10% | $0 to $11,600 | $0 to $23,200 | $0 to $16,550 |
| 12% | $11,601 to $47,150 | $23,201 to $94,300 | $16,551 to $63,100 |
| 22% | $41,151 to $100,525 | $94,301 to $201,050 | $63,101 to $100,500 |
| 24% | $100,526 to $191,950 | $201,051 to $383,900 | $100,501 to $191,950 |
| 32% | $191,951 to $243,725 | $383,901 to $487,450 | $191,951 to $243,700 |
| 35% | $243,726 to $609,350 | $487,451 to $731,200 | $243,701 to $609,350 |
| 37% | $609,350 or more | $731,200 or more | $609,350 or more |
Numerous tax provisions are indexed for inflation so they can increase incrementally each year. These 2024 figures represent the increases from 2023:
| 2023 Tax Brackets for Single Filers, Married Couples Filing Jointly, and Heads of Households | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 Tax Rate | For Single Filers | For Married Individuals Filing Joint Returns | For Heads of Households |
| 10% | $0 to $11,000 | $0 to $22,000 | $0 to $15,700 |
| 12% | $11,001 to $44,725 | $22,001 to $89,450 | $15,701 to $59,850 |
| 22% | $44,726 to $95,375 | $89,451 to $190,750 | $59,851 to $95,350 |
| 24% | $95,376 to $182,100 | $190,751 to $364,200 | $95,351 to $182,100 |
| 32% | $182,101 to $231,250 | $364,201 to $462,500 | $182,101 to $231,250 |
| 35% | $231,251 to $578,125 | $462,501 to $693,750 | $231,251 to $578,100 |
| 37% | $578,126 or more | $693,751 or more | $578,101 or more |
Who Qualifies As Head of Household?
You must be considered unmarried, pay at least half your household expenses, and have a qualified dependent living with you for more than half the year to qualify as head of household. You can also qualify if your dependent is a parent who doesn't live with you but for whom you cover at least half of their housing costs.
Should I Claim Single or Head of Household Status?
It's almost always better to file as head of household. HOH filers have a lower tax rate and higher standard deductions than single filers.
What Is the Standard Deduction for Head of Household?
The portion of income not subject to tax for heads of households is $21,900 in 2024. That's an increase from $20,800 for the 2023 tax year.
The Bottom Line
Head of household (HOH) filing status can be claimed by unmarried taxpayers who support and house a qualifying person. You must file a separate individual tax return, be considered unmarried, and have a qualifying child or dependent to qualify for HOH status.
The purpose of the HOH filing status is to provide a financial boost to single or separated individuals with dependents. It's almost always better to file as head of household if you qualify. HOH filers have a lower tax rate and higher standard deductions than single filers.
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