Federal Income Tax For Individuals And Small Business

<div class="Section1">An individual who meets the following requirements may file a tax return as head of household:<div class="Section1"><br /> <blockquote>Taxpayer is not married or considered married (excluding a qualifying widow(er) with dependent child,<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">¹</a> <em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8503">8503</a>);<br /> <br /> Taxpayer paid more than half the cost of maintaining a home for the tax year;<br /> <br /> A &ldquo;qualifying person&rdquo; (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8505">8505</a>) lived with the individual for more than half the year (except for temporary absences); and<br /> <br /> Taxpayer is not a nonresident alien.<a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">²</a></blockquote><br /> </div><div class="refs"><br /> <br /> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%"><br /> <br /> <a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">1</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; IRC &sect;&nbsp;2(b)(1).<br /> <br /> <a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">2</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp; IRC &sect;&sect;&nbsp;2(b), 2(d).<br /> <br /> </div></div><br />

<div class="Section1"><em>Editor&rsquo;s Note:</em>&nbsp;The 2017 tax reform legislation suspended the personal exemption from 2018-2025 and limited many itemized deductions to which a taxpayer might have otherwise been entitled.<div class="Section1"><br /> <br /> A taxpayer computes the amount of tax owed using the following basic steps:<br /> <blockquote>1. Gross income for the taxable year is determined (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8513">8513</a>);<br /> <br /> 2. Certain deductions are subtracted from gross income (above the line deductions) to arrive at adjusted gross income (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8521">8521</a> to Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8523">8523</a>);<br /> <br /> 3. The deduction for personal and dependency exemptions is determined (prior to 2018 and after 2025, <em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8516">8516</a> to Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8520">8520</a>);<br /> <br /> 4. Itemized deductions are totaled (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8524">8524</a>), compared to the standard deduction and the additional standard deduction, if applicable (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8521">8521</a>), and (generally) the greater amount, along with the deduction for exemptions (prior to 2018 and after 2025), is deducted from adjusted gross income to arrive at taxable income;<br /> <br /> 5. The proper tax rate is applied to taxable income to determine the tax (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8510">8510</a>);<br /> <br /> 6. The following amounts are subtracted from the tax to determine the net tax payable or overpayment refundable: (1) credits (<em><em>see</em></em> Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8563">8563</a> and Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8564">8564</a>), and<br /> (2) prepayments toward the tax (e.g., overpayments or credits from a prior tax year carried over, tax withheld by an employer or estimated tax payments).</blockquote><br /> In some cases, there may be an alternative minimum tax liability.&nbsp;The steps in calculating the alternative minimum tax are explained in Q <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="accordion-cross-reference" id="8573">8573</a>.<br /> <br /> </div></div><br />