Head of Household

Unmarried taxpayers filing as head of household are allowed an exemption that is higher than the exemption allowed for single or married filing separately. Taxpayers must qualify and file as head of household on their federal returns in order to qualify and file head of household on their Massachusetts returns.

You may file as head of household if you meet all of the following criteria:

You're unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You're unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you're legally separated from your spouse under a divorce or separate maintenance agreement.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year

A qualifying person lived with you in the home for more than half the year (See IRS Publication 501 regarding a Qualifying Dependent.)

You're also considered unmarried if you meet all of the following criteria:

You file a separate return

You pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the tax year

Your spouse didn't live in the home during the last 6 months of the tax year

Your home was your child's, stepchild's or adopted child's main home for more than half the year or was your foster child's main home for the entire year

You can claim an exemption for the child. However, you can still be considered unmarried if you're only not claiming an exemption for the child because the non-custodial parent may claim an exemption for the child

A qualifying person includes the following taxpayers:

Child, grandchild, stepchild or adopted child who is single

Child, grandchild, stepchild or adopted child who is married, if you can claim an exemption for them

Foster child, if you can claim an exemption for them

Uncle, aunt, nephew or niece if they're related to you by blood and you can claim an exemption for them

Parent, grandparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, stepmother, stepfather, half brother, half sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, if you can claim an exemption for them

Please note your exemption is limited to $1,000 for 2025 per qualifying dependent.

A dependent parent doesn't have to live with you for you to be able to file as head of household. You must pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the main home for the entire year for the parent. Keeping up a main home means you're paying more than half the cost of keeping a parent in a rest home or home for the elderly.