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To qualify for the Head of Household (HOH) filing status on a U.S. tax return, a taxpayer must meet the following requirements:

1. Marital Status: The taxpayer must be unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year. Being “considered unmarried” generally means that the taxpayer did not live with their spouse during the last 6 months of the year.
2. Household Maintenance: The taxpayer must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year. This can include rent, mortgage, property taxes, utilities, groceries, and other household expenses.
3. Qualifying Person: The taxpayer must have a “qualifying person” live with them for more than half of the year. This is typically a child but can also include certain other relatives (such as a parent, if the taxpayer paid more than half the cost of keeping up the parent’s main home).
   A “qualifying person” generally includes:

A child (biological, adopted, step, or foster, under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently disabled) who lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year.

Certain relatives such as siblings, parents, grandparents, or other direct descendants, subject to specific IRS rules. If all these conditions are met, the taxpayer may file as Head of Household, which usually results in a lower tax rate and a higher standard deduction than the Single filing status. However, precise definitions and exceptions apply, so it is important to review IRS rules or consult a tax professional for complex situations.