/single-stay-at-home-mom-56a8fcd95f9b58b7d0f70680.jpg "Head of Household (HOH) Definition 1")
What Is Head of Family (HOH)?
Taxpayers could file tax returns as head of family (HOH) if they’re single and pay greater than half the price of supporting and housing a qualifying particular person. Taxpayers eligible to classify themselves as an HOH get larger customary deductions and decrease tax charges than taxpayers who file as single or married submitting individually.
Key Takeaways
- To qualify for head of family (HOH) tax submitting standing, you need to file a separate particular person tax return, be thought of single, and have a qualifying little one or dependent.
- The qualifying particular person should usually be both a baby or father or mother of the HOH.
- The HOH should pay for greater than one-half of the qualifying particular person’s help and housing prices.
Understanding Head of Family (HOH)
Head of family is a submitting standing accessible to taxpayers who meet sure qualifying thresholds. They need to file separate particular person tax returns, be thought of single, and have a qualifying dependent, similar to a baby or father or mother. Additional, the HOH should pay greater than one-half the price of supporting the qualifying particular person and greater than one-half the price of sustaining that qualifying particular person’s main residence.
The IRS supplies a breakdown of what constitutes a professional particular person in Desk 4 of Publication 501.
Single
To be thought of single, the HOH should be single, divorced, or considered single. For instance, married taxpayers could be considered single if they didn’t stay with their partner over the past six months of the tax 12 months. The standing additional requires that the HOH meet both of those two necessities:
- The HOH is married to a nonresident alien whom they elect to not deal with as a resident alien.
- The HOH is legally separated beneath a divorce or separate upkeep decree by the final day of the tax 12 months.
Married taxpayers are thought of single in the event that they haven’t lived with their partner for the final six months of the tax 12 months.
Financially help a qualifying particular person
An HOH should pay for greater than one-half of the price of a qualifying particular person’s help and housing prices. The HOH should additionally pay greater than one-half of the lease or mortgage, utilities, repairs, insurance coverage, taxes, and different prices of sustaining the house the place the qualifying particular person lives for greater than half of the 12 months. The residence should be the taxpayer’s own residence, except the qualifying particular person is the taxpayer’s father or mother and the house is the property of that father or mother.
If the qualifying particular person is a father or mother who lives at one other deal with, it is nonetheless attainable to file as head of family—offered they’re depending on you and also you cowl greater than half the price of maintaining their residence.
Private exemption suspended
The enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) led the non-public exemption to be suspended by way of 2025. Again when there was one, HOH filers had to have the ability to declare an exemption for his or her qualifying particular person. Taxpayers might launch their exemption to a noncustodial father or mother in a divorce continuing or a authorized separation settlement and stay eligible to file as an HOH.
Examples of Submitting as Head of Family (HOH)
Submitting as an HOH can present important financial savings for taxpayers. Under we examine the tax burden for a person incomes $70,000 utilizing the completely different submitting statuses.
HOH vs. single or married submitting individually
For 2021 tax returns, that are due April 2022, the HOH has a regular deduction of $18,800, lowering their $70,000 taxable revenue to $51,200. From that quantity, $14,200 might be taxed at 10%, and $37,000 at 12%, bringing the full tax invoice to $1,420 + $4,440 = $5,860.
As compared, a taxpayer submitting as single or married submitting individually qualifies for the standard deduction of $12,550, lowering their taxable revenue from $70,000 to $57,450. Of that $57,450, $9,950 might be taxed at 10%, $30,574 at 12%, and the remaining $16,926 at 22%, leading to a complete tax invoice of $995 + $3,668.88 + $3,723.72 = $8,387.60.
Thus, submitting as an HOH saved this hypothetical taxpayer $2,527.60.
For the 2022 tax 12 months, these financial savings will enhance much more as revenue limits are adjusted for inflation, and the usual deduction rises $600 for HOH to $19,400, versus $400 to $12,950 for single filers.
| 2022 Tax Brackets for Single Filers, Married {Couples} Submitting Collectively, and Heads of Households | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 Tax Price | For Single Filers | For Married People Submitting Joint Returns | For Heads of Households |
| 10% | $0 to $10,275 | $0 to $20,550 | $0 to $14,650 |
| 12% | $10,276 to $41,775 | $20,551 to $83,550 | $14,651 to $55,900 |
| 22% | $41,776 to $89,075 | $83,551 to $178,150 | $55,901 to $89,050 |
| 24% | $89,076 to $170,050 | $178,151 to $340,100 | $89,051 to $170,050 |
| 32% | $170,051 to $215,950 | $340,101 to $431,900 | $170,051 to $215,950 |
| 35% | $215,951 to $539,900 | $431,901 to $647,850 | $215,951 to $539,900 |
| 37% | $539,901 or extra | $647,851 or extra | $539,901 or extra |
Who Qualifies as Head of Family?
To file taxes as head of family, you should be thought of single, pay at the least half of the family bills, and have both a professional dependent dwelling with you greater than half the 12 months or a father or mother whose housing prices you cowl at the least half of.
Is It Higher to File as Single or Head of Family?
For tax functions, it’s higher to be head of family. Head of family filers have a decrease tax fee and better customary deductions than single filers.
What Is the Normal Deduction for Head of Family?
Within the 2021 tax 12 months, the portion of revenue not topic to tax for heads of households is $18,800. Within the 2022 tax 12 months, that threshold will increase to $19,400.