For the 2025 U.S. federal tax year, which set of facts allows a taxpayer to file as Head of Household?
- The taxpayer is unmarried (or considered unmarried) at year-end, paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year, and a qualifying person lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year
- The taxpayer is married but chooses to file a separate return from their spouse
- The taxpayer lives alone with no dependents but wants a lower tax rate than the Single status offers
- The taxpayer paid more than half the cost of a home for a friend who does not qualify as the taxpayer's dependent
Correct answer: A. The taxpayer is unmarried (or considered unmarried) at year-end, paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year, and a qualifying person lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year
The IRS requires three things for Head of Household status: the taxpayer must be unmarried or considered unmarried at the end of the year, must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year, and must have a qualifying person who lived in that home for more than half the year (an exception exists only for a dependent parent, who need not live with the taxpayer). The second option is wrong because filing a separate return while still married generally results in Married Filing Separately status, not Head of Household, unless the specific 'considered unmarried' exception applies. The third option is wrong because Head of Household requires a qualifying person in the home; living alone with no dependents does not meet that requirement regardless of preference for a lower rate. The fourth option is wrong because the qualifying person must be a dependent (or otherwise meet the specific relationship tests), and an unrelated friend who is not a dependent does not satisfy that requirement.
Source: IRS Publication 501 (2025), 'Head of Household'