Qualifying Person for Head of Household

In order to use the head of household status, you need to have a qualifying person.

A qualifying person is a

son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them;

your brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister or a son or daughter of any of them;

an ancestor or sibling of your father or mother;

or stepbrother, stepsister, stepfather, stepmother, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

An unrelated depedent who lives with you, for example a companion or a friend, is not a qualifying person.

The home you pay to maintain must be the principal residence for yourself and your qualifying person, who lived with you for more then half a year.

If your qualifying person is your parent, they are not required to live in your household, but you are required to have paid more than 50% of their support