Head of Household is one of five different filing status options available to taxpayers, and is often the most advantageous filing status for single parents.

The Head of Household status is available for taxpayers who are unmarried and who are caring for a child, parent, or other close family member living in the same household with them. That seems pretty easy to understand. What makes this filing status complicated is that both the unmarried and the qualifying person criteria can be complex.

For example, a taxpayer will be unmarried if he or she (1) has never been married, (2) is legally separated or divorced by the end of the year, or (3) has lived apart for his or her spouse for at least the last six months of the year.

The qualifying person rules are even more complex. For Head of Household, the taxpayer will need to have at least one qualifying person who lives in the same household as the taxpayer, and the taxpayer provides more than half the cost of maintaining the household. To many people, this sounds like the qualifying person would be a dependent. And in many cases, the same person who is a dependent will also qualify the taxpayer for head of household. But the criteria for a head of household qualifying person are different in two respects: (1) they must be a closely related family member, and (2) they must live with the taxpayer for more than half the year. Dependents, on the other hand, is a broader concept and can cover a wider variety of family relationships and living situations.

To make matters even more complicated, some divorced and separated couples will often split the child-related tax benefits. One person will claim the dependent, and the other will claim head of household. This is allowable under current tax laws. The caveat is that only the custodial parent (the parent with whom the child resides for more than half the year) can claim head of household. The custodial parent should also fill out Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, to allow the non-custodial parent to claim the child as a dependent for a particular year. The noncustodial parent cannot claim head of household using that dependent because they won't meet the residency requirement.

For more information:

• see the article head of household filing status on About.com
• read over Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information from the IRS.

If you need help determining your filing status, check out the What is My Filing Status? application on the IRS Web site.