Head of Household for U.S. Expatriates

U.S. Tax Preparation Worldwide James Maertin CPA

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Tax Guide, Americans Abroad
Head of Household

If you are a U.S. citizen married to a nonresident alien you may qualify to use the head of household tax rates. You are considered unmarried for head of household purposes if your spouse was a nonresident alien at any time during the year and you do not choose to treat your nonresident spouse as a resident alien. However, your spouse is not a qualifying person for head of household purposes. You must have another qualifying person and meet the other tests to be eligible to file as a head of household.

Although your nonresident alien spouse cannot qualify you as a head of household, you can qualify if (1) or (2) applies:

1. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the principal home for the whole year for your mother or father for whom you can claim an exemption (your parent does not have to have lived with you), or

2. You paid more than half the cost of keeping up the home in which you lived and in which one of the following also lived for more than half the year:

Your unmarried child, grandchild, stepchild, foster child, or adopted child. A foster child will qualify you for this status only if you can claim an exemption for the child
Your married child, grandchild, stepchild, or adopted child for whom you can claim an exemption, or for whom you could claim an exemption except that you signed a statement allowing the noncustodial parent to claim the exemption, or the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 support and claims the exemption under a pre-1985 agreement
Any relative for whom you can claim an exemption: Parent, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, half-siblings, step-parents, step-siblings, in-laws (mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter), foster child

Source: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/us-citizens-and-resident-aliens-abroad-head-of-household