ExpertGlossary

Head of household is an IRS filing status that you can use if you are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of a tax year and provide at least half the cost of maintaining a home for one or more qualifying dependents.

That may be your child, grandchild, or other relative who lives in that home for more than half the year, or a parent whether or not he or she lives in your home.

The advantage of filing as head of household is that you can take a higher standard deduction than if you filed as a single taxpayer and you owe less federal income tax than you would as a single, assuming all other details were the same.

Filing as head of household also means you qualify for certain deductions and credits that would not be available to you if you used the married filing separate returns status.