Head of Household

For the specific requirements that must be met to qualify for head of household (HOH) filing status, get FTB Pub. 1540, Tax Information for Head of Household Filing Status. In general, HOH filing status is for unmarried individuals and certain married individuals or RDPs living apart who provide a home for a specified relative. You may be entitled to use HOH filing status if all of the following apply:

You were unmarried and not in a registered domestic partnership, or you met the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a registered domestic partnership on December 31, 2024.

You paid more than one-half the cost of keeping up your home for the year in 2024.

For more than half the year, your home was the main home for you and one of the specified relatives who by law can qualify you for HOH filing status.

You were not a nonresident alien at any time during the year.

For a child to qualify as your foster child for HOH purposes, the child must either be placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by order of a court.

California requires taxpayers who use HOH filing status to file form FTB 3532, Head of Household Filing Status Schedule, to report how the HOH filing status was determined.

Beginning in tax year 2018, if you do not attach a completed form FTB 3532 to your tax return, we will deny your HOH filing status. For more information about the HOH filing requirements, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for hoh . To get form FTB 3532, see “ Order Forms and Publications ” or go to ftb.ca.gov/forms .