Head of Household
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Head of Household is a Filing Status (federal income tax) for individual American taxpayers.
Generally, to qualify for head of household status you must be unmarried, not entitled to file as a qualifying widow or widower, and have a dependent child. You must also have provided more than half the cost of maintaining, as your home, a household that was the main home for a qualifying dependent. You may also qualify for head of household status if you, though married, file a separate return and your spouse was not a member of your household during the last six months of the tax year and you provided more than half of the cost of maintaining, as your home, a household that was the main home, for more than one half of your tax year, of a child who is a qualifying dependent. A tax payer should also bear in mind that the definition of "head of household" contains a lot of exceptions and other rules.[1]
[edit] Advantages to qualifying as a Head of Household
Someone who qualifies as a head of household uses the tax table in ยง1(b) of the IRS code. This table contains a wider Tax bracket than unmarried individuals. A head of household also can deduct a larger Personal Exemption (federal income tax).
[edit] References
- ^ Samuel A. Donaldson, "Federal Income Taxation Of Individuals: Cases, Problems and Materials", 2d. edition (St. Paul: Thompson-West 2007, 2d edition, 5-7.