Can I use the Head of Household filing status if I'm married and living apart from my spouse?

Even if you weren't divorced or legally separated in 2025, you may be able to file as Head of Household. You may file as Head of Household if all of the following are true:

1. You lived apart from your spouse for the last 6 months of 2025. Temporary absences for special circumstances (such as for business, medical care, school, or military service) count as time lived in the home.
2. You file a separate return from your spouse.
3. You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home for 2025.
4. Your home was the main home of your child, adopted child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half of 2025 (with exceptions for temporary absences like school or if the person was born or died in 2025).
5. You claim this child as your dependent, or the child's other parent claims him or her under the rules for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents.