What is the diffrence between a single person filing their taxes as single VS head of household?

Answer 1

To file as Head of Household, you have to meet certain criteria:

The taxpayer has to be single at the end of the year
The taxpayer must maintain a household for the 6 months of the year
The household has to be the taxpayer's main residence
The qualified dependent must have lived there for six months
The taxpayer must provide over 50% of the cost of maintaining the household
The taxpayer has to be a US resident or legal alien for the entire year

The difference is that a single person does not have any dependents to claim and also pays a higher tax rate.

A person filing as head of household is a single parent, or a single person providing over 50% of the cost of caring for a parent, grand child, foster child, step child, or adopted child. And they have a lower tax rate.

Answer 2

There is much confusion over the Head of Household filing status.

If you are unmarried then you may be able to file as Head of
Household if you maintain a home for your child. It is not always the case that the child is a dependent on your return.

The difference between the Single and Head of Household filing statuses is that Single gets a $5,150 standard deduction and Head of Household gets a $7,550 standard deduction.

Sometimes filing as Head of Household results in a bigger refund, sometimes there is no difference.

The credits and other deductions (including dependency exemptions) available to you do not depend on whether you file as Single or Head of Household.

Answer 3

Head of household is a slightly lower tax bracket than single. Of course, be sure you qualify before filing Head of Household. Go to http://www.irs.gov to read the rules regarding filing status.

Answer 4

You are only allowed to file as head of household under certain conditions. If you don't have any dependents, then you aren't allowed, plus there are additional rules.

Head of household tax rates are lower than single rates.