The claim “You are not Head of Household if you only made $20,000 for the whole year” is incorrect.
👉 Fact:
Head of Household (HOH) is not determined by how much income you made. The IRS looks at three things:
- Were you unmarried (or considered unmarried) at the end of the year?
- Did you pay more than half the cost of keeping up your home?
- Did a qualifying dependent live with you more than half the year?
If the answer is “yes” to those, you could still be HOH even if your income was $20k.
💡 Example: A single parent making $20,000, paying rent and groceries, and supporting a child can qualify as HOH. But someone making $80,000 with no dependents cannot.