Which of the following is not a requirement for head of household status?

To establish head of household status, several requirements must be met in order to qualify for this filing status, which often carries a more favorable tax rate and allows for higher deductions compared to single status.

An individual must be unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. This forms a fundamental requirement for head of household status. The person must also have a qualifying dependent, which can include a child or a qualifying relative, but it is not limited to a parent living at the same residence. In fact, a qualifying dependent parent can reside elsewhere, as long as the individual maintains a household for them and provides more than half of their support.

Part of head of household qualifications is that the taxpayer must be responsible for more than half the cost of maintaining the home, which is a central factor in determining this status. Also, a qualified individual must have lived in the home for more than half the year, ensuring that the individual actually supports someone living in their household for a significant portion of the tax year.

In this context, stating that a qualifying dependent parent must live at the same residence is not accurate, as head of household status can still be achieved if the parent does not reside with the individual, provided other criteria are fulfilled.