by Myra Watters

Created on: April 23, 2009   Last Updated: June 05, 2009

Working as a Tax Preparer for several years, I can honestly say the Head of Household (HH) status is the most difficult filing status for taxpayers to understand. Once a taxpayer decides he/she is head of his/her household, its hard to get through to him/her that according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), he/she does not meet the requirements to file as Head of Household.

According, to the IRS, "you may be able" to file as HH if you meet all of the following requirements:

1. Unmarried or considered unmarried at the end of the tax year.
2. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
3. A "qualifying person" lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary
absences, such as school). However, if the qualified person is your dependent parent, he or she
does not have to live with you.

The above requirements are where many taxpayers stop and based on their perceptions of what the above means, they determine that they meet the requirements to use the Head of Household filing status. Remember the IRS says "you may be able" to file as Head of Household, indicating that there must be other requirements to be taken into consideration. In order for a taxpayer to qualify for the Head of Household filing status, there are further requirements and tests that must be met. For instance, to be considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year, there are five further tests that must be met. To determine whether you paid half the cost of keeping up a home, you will need to know how to calculate this and what costs to include/exclude in the calculation. You will also need to know who is considered to be a "qualifying person." Furthermore, you will need a clear understanding of the following terms: temporary absences, qualifying person, exemption, children of divorced and separated parents, etc.

The Internal Revenue web site (www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch02.html#en_US_publin k100032140) is the place to go. The IRS, Publication 17, offers a detailed explanation of all the information needed to determine whether or not you meet the requirements to file as Head of Household. The Publication provides a simplified worksheet for you to determine whether or not you paid over half the cost of keeping up a home and give a list of what costs to include in the calculation. Publication 17, also provide a table to determine who a "qualifying person."

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