Alabama Rules for Head of Family Filing Status

Head of Family

You can use the filing status of “Head of Family” only if all of the following requirements are met:

1. You were unmarried or legally separated on December 31
2. You are not a surviving spouse
3. The qualifying dependent is not a foster child
4. You meet either Test 1 or Test 2 below:
   • Test 1: You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your parent’s main home for the entire year. (Your parent must have been your dependent, but did not have to live with you in your home), OR
   • Test 2: You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home in which you and one of the following lived for more than six months of the year (temporary absences, such as for vacation or school, are counted as time lived in the home):
     • Your unmarried child, grandchild, great grandchild, adopted child, or stepchild. This child does not have to be your dependent.
     • Your married child, grandchild, great grandchild, adopted child, or stepchild. This child must be your dependent, but if your married child’s other parent claims him or her as a dependent under the federal rules for children of divorced or separated parents, this child does not have to be your dependent.
     • Any relative whom you can claim as a dependent.

You are entitled to a $3,000 personal exemption for the filing status of “Head of Family.”

If the person for whom you kept up a home was born or died during the year, you may still file as “Head of Family” if the home was that person’s main home for the entire part of the year he or she was alive.