Marital Status

• You must be unmarried on the last day of the year. If you meet certain requirements, you may be considered unmarried for tax purposes.
  
  

Keeping a Home

• You must have paid for more than half of the cost of your home in the past year.
  
  

Qualifying Person

• A qualifying person, such as a child or dependent parent, must live with you over six months of the year. Exceptions are children that are away at school and dependent parents who live in a rest home of which you pay more than half the cost. The IRS has certain tests to determine if a child is a qualifying person.
  
  

Tax Rate

• If you qualify as a Head of Household, your tax rate will be lower than it would be for filing as single or married filing separately.
  
  

Standard Deduction

• Head of Household can claim a higher standard deduction than someone filing as single or married filing separately. The standard deduction changes each year for inflation. In 2009, the standard deduction amount for a Head of Household was $8,350.