Do I qualify for head of household filing status?

Head of household is for unmarried (or "considered unmarried") taxpayers who support a household, and it's much better than filing single. To qualify, you must be unmarried or living apart from your spouse for the last half of the year, pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home, and have a qualifying person — usually a child or dependent relative — living with you for more than half the year. The payoff is a larger standard deduction ($24,150 in 2026 versus $16,100 for single) and wider tax brackets, which lowers your tax. A common case is a single parent or someone supporting a dependent parent. Don't assume you can't qualify just because you're divorced or never married — many people leave this money on the table. Tax software confirms eligibility when you enter your dependents.