The head of household filing status is for taxpayers who are either unmarried and not an RDP or meet the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a registered domestic partnership and maintain a home for a relative who lived with them for more than half the year.

Registered Domestic Partners (RDPs)

Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2007, RDPs under California law must file their California income tax returns using either the married/RDP filing jointly or married/RDP filing separately filing status. RDPs will have the same legal benefits, protections, and responsibilities as married couples unless otherwise specified. For more information on RDPs, see FTB Pub. 737, Tax Information for Registered Domestic Partners.

If you are an RDP, you may qualify to use the head of household filing status if both of the following apply:

• You are in the process of ending your relationship.
• You meet the requirements to be considered not in a registered domestic partnership.

General Rules

Do I qualify for head of household?

You are entitled to the head of household filing status only if all of the following apply:

• You were unmarried and not an RDP or met the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a registered domestic partnership as of the last day of the year.
• You paid more than one-half the costs of keeping up your home for the year.
• Your home was the main home for you and a qualifying person who lived with you for more than half the year.
• The qualifying person was related to you and met the requirements to be a qualifying child or qualifying relative.
• You were entitled to a dependent exemption credit for your qualifying person.  However, you do not have to be entitled to a dependent exemption credit for your qualifying child if you were unmarried and not an RDP and your qualifying child was also unmarried and not an RDP.
• You were not a nonresident alien at any time during the year.

@IRSTax

Here, according to the IRS, are the 10 most common taxpayer mistakes:

Claiming the wrong filing status

Sorry, you can’t just choose to file single or married. Your marital status is determined as of Dec. 31. Anything before that date really doesn’t matter for tax purposes. You file either jointly or married filing separately. You may qualify for “head of household,” but you have to satisfy all the requirements. You don’t qualify just because you consider yourself the head of your household.Claiming the wrong status could kill your eligibility for the child tax credit, the earned-income credit and exemptions for dependents. Check out the instructions for Form 1040 for detailed information to help you select your correct filing status.

Omitting or using wrong Social Security numbers

The Social Security numbers you list for your dependents, the earned-income credit and the child tax credit must match your dependents’ Social Security cards. Otherwise, the IRS computers will reject your credits and deductions.If you’re still doing your return by hand, put down that stone tablet you’re reading and pay attention. Make sure your handwriting is legible, at least on your tax return. Although to be fair, I suspect that many of these mistakes attributed to taxpayer error actually result from bad inputting by the IRS.

Failing to use correct forms and schedules

Think of the IRS as a vast bureaucracy that responds to the dictates of an outdated computer system for audit direction. You don’t want to anger the computer gods.

If you file your employee business expenses on Schedule A without attaching Form 2106, the computer’s going to click. The more the computer clicks, the more likely that you will get audited.So, be nice to the computer. Correctly file all of the appropriate forms.

Failing to sign and date the return

This one is easy. If you don’t sign the return, you haven’t filed. Both spouses must sign a joint return. If you haven’t filed, you’re going to be subject to all kinds of penalties, not to mention interest on any amounts not paid in full.The only reason not to sign the return is if the numbers on it would constitute perjury. Do you think the IRS wouldn’t notice?

Claiming ineligible dependents

When the IRS started requiring Social Security numbers for claimed dependents, millions of dependents disappeared. I suspect most of them sulked back to their doghouses, flew to their bird cages or jumped back into their aquariums.In any case, the qualification criteria to claim a dependent are technical and very specific. With nontraditional families, there are the exceptions, the exclusions to the exceptions, the exceptions when the exclusions don’t apply and the special rules for the third Wednesday each month.

You’ll have to meet each of at least four qualifications. Follow the flowchart in the instructions for your Form 1040. But it’s not simple.

Misusing — or not using — the earned-income credit

This one I blame on Congress. It’s a provision to help the poorest in our nation, but lawmakers designed it to be one of the most convoluted provisions in our tax code.It’s so bad that the IRS reports failure to claim the earned-income credit as its No. 6 top taxpayer mistake and incorrectly claiming the credit as No. 7.

Lots of crooks — and unwitting but misinformed taxpayers — illegally claim the credit. Many of those whom the credit was designed to aid lack the tax sophistication or the dollars necessary to hire a professional to claim those dollars.

Losing receipts

Receipts can mean deductions and tax savings. So, hunt down all those charitable organizations to which you contributed and make them give you a receipt for the donation. If you made more than one donation, get a receipt for each one. The receipt needs the date, the amount, the name of the charity. No receipt means no deduction.We’re not done yet. Start hunting down receipts for medical expenses. Perhaps you spent enough on health care that your expenses exceed the 7.5% income threshold. The total expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income are deductible. And don’t forget: These can include health insurance premiums.

And don’t forget the paperwork to prove property tax and mortgage deductions.

Failing to report domestic workers

Even if you don’t want to be a Supreme Court justice or the U.S. attorney general, you still have to pay the payroll taxes on your nanny, housecleaner or in-home caregiver.Sorry, it’s the law. If you pay $1,500 or more in 2007 (or $1,600 in 2008) to any one household employee, you’re going to have to withhold, and match, both Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) taxes. You must file Schedule H to compute and report the liability.

You’ll owe federal unemployment taxes if you pay wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter to household employees. You may also owe state employment and disability taxes.

If you pay certain related parties, or employees under age 18 who qualify, you may escape liability. See Publication 926 for details.

Failing to report all income

You can’t avoid reporting all of your income just because you don’t get a W-2 form or a 1099. Not all income is reported on 1099s. That doesn’t excuse you from having to pay tax on it. The fact that there’s no reporting to the IRS doesn’t prevent the agency from auditing your receipts and reconciling your bank deposits with your reported income.Unreported income can lead to civil and criminal sanctions. I don’t care how lucky you feel. The potential consequences aren’t worth the risk.

Failing to check for the alternative minimum tax

The AMT, or “awfully mean tax,” was created to catch high-income taxpayers who used allowable deductions and credits to wipe out too much tax liability. It’s an alternative computation of your tax, with different deductions, add-backs and flat rates.You pay the higher of your regular tax or that computed under the AMT.

Unfortunately, because it hasn’t been updated to reflect inflation since the original bill was passed, the AMT has been projected to hit about 19 million families in 2007, including 64% of households earning $100,000 to $200,000.

You might not think you’re a victim, at least until you get that letter from the IRS with penalties and interest. The IRS has an AMT estimation calculator on its Web site, but, to be sure, run through Form 6251.

MSN Money

@IRSTax

1. AGI – Adjusted gross income, AGI, is all the income you receive over the course of the year such as wages, interest, dividends and capital gains minus things such as contributions to a qualified IRA, some business expenses, moving costs and alimony payments. The adjusted gross income is the first step in calculating your final federal income tax bill.

2. Credits — Tax credits are much like credits you get from a store. After you calculate your tax bill, you can use the credit to reduce the amount of the check you must write to Uncle Sam. Tax credits are more valuable than deductions because they directly cut the amount of tax you owe, rather than reducing the amount of taxed income. A $200 credit, for example, will turn a $1,000 tax bill into only $800. A few could even give you a refund you weren’t expecting.

3. Deductions – Deductions are expenses that the Internal Revenue Service allows you to subtract from your AGI to arrive at your taxable income. In most cases, the lower your income, the lower your tax bill. If, for example, a single filer has income of $38,000 and $8,000 in deductions, then he would pay taxes only on $30,000. The IRS offers all filers a standard deduction amount (more on this later). Some other deductions, such as student loan interest, moving expenses, deductible IRA contributions and alimony payments, are also listed directly on the 1040A or long Form 1040. The term is most commonly associated with the itemized deductions (more on this later, too) that are claimed by taxpayers who file Schedule A.

4. Standard deduction — This is a fixed dollar amount that a taxpayer can subtract from his or her income. The standard deduction is available to all filers and is determined by the taxpayer’s filing status. The amounts change each year because of inflation adjustments; you can find the current standard deduction levels listed on each of the three individual tax forms. This deduction method is used by most taxpayers and eliminates the need for them to itemize actual deductions such as medical expenses, charitable contributions or state and local taxes.

5. Itemized deductions — These are expenses that can be deducted from your AGI to help you reach a smaller income amount upon which you must calculate your tax bill. Itemized deductions include medical expenses, other taxes (state, local and property tax), mortgage interest, charitable contributions, casualty and theft losses, unreimbursed employee expenses and miscellaneous deductions such as gambling losses. Some itemized deductions must meet IRS limits before they can be claimed. When you itemize, you must file Form 1040 and detail your deductions on Schedule A.

6. Exemption — This is an amount that the IRS lets you subtract from your income to reflect all the people who count on your income. Exemptions can be claimed for yourself, your spouse and your dependents. The IRS allows a set amount for each exemption and, as with deductions, this total is subtracted from your adjusted gross income to come up with your final, lower earnings amount upon which you must figure your tax bill. Your personal exemption amount is in addition to any deductions, either standard or itemized, that you claim.

7. Progressive taxation – This is the system in which higher tax rates are applied as income levels increase. The U.S. tax system uses progressive taxation with tax brackets starting at 10 percent and rising to 35 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers.

8. Taxable income — Your overall, or gross, income reduced by all allowable adjustments, deductions and exemptions. It is the final amount of income you use to figure just how much tax you owe.

9. Voluntary compliance — This describes the philosophy upon which our tax system is based: that U.S. taxpayers voluntarily comply with the tax laws and report their income and other tax items honestly.

10. Withholding – Also known as pay-as-you-earn taxation, this method enables taxes to be taken out of your wages or other income as you earn it and before you receive your paycheck. These withheld taxes are deposited in an IRS account and you are credited for the amount when you file your return. In some cases, taxes also may be withheld from other income such as dividends and interest.

@IRSTax

If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this guide to see if you must file a return.
In this guide, unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment
compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. Earned income
includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants. Gross income is the total of your unearned
and earned income.
Single dependents. Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $950.
· Your earned income was over $5,800.
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $950, or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $300.
Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $2,400 ($3,850 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your earned income was over $7,250 ($8,700 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $2,400 ($3,850 if 65 or older and blind), or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $1,750 ($3,200 if 65 or older and blind).
Married dependents. Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $950.
· Your earned income was over $5,800.
· Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $950, or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $300.
Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $2,100 ($3,250 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your earned income was over $6,950 ($8,100 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $2,100 ($3,250 if 65 or older and blind), or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $1,450 ($2,600 if 65 or older and blind).

If you changed your name after a recent marriage or divorce, the IRS reminds you to take the necessary steps to ensure the name on your tax return matches the name registered with the Social Security Administration. A mismatch between the name shown on your tax return and the SSA records can cause problems in the processing of your return and may even delay your refund.

Here are five tips from the IRS for recently married or divorced taxpayers who have a name change.

1.      If you took your spouse’s last name — or if you hyphenated your last names, you may run into complications if you don’t notify the SSA. When newlyweds file a tax return using their new last names, IRS computers can’t match the new name with their Social Security number.

2.      If you recently divorced and changed back to your previous last name, you’ll also need to notify the SSA of this name change.

3.      Informing the SSA of a name change is easy. Simply file a Form SS-5,Application for a Social Security Card, at your local SSA office or by mail and provide a recently issued document as proof of your legal name change.

4.      Form SS-5 is available on SSA’s website athttp://www.socialsecurity.gov/, by calling 800-772-1213 or at local offices. Your new card will have the same number as your previous card, but will show your new name. 

5. If you adopted your spouse’s children after getting married and their names changed, you’ll need to update their names with SSA too. For adopted children without SSNs, the parents can apply for an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number – or ATIN – by filing Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions with the IRS. The ATIN is a temporary number used in place of an SSN on the tax return. Form W-7A is available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).