Qualifications

• To qualify for the head of household filing status, you must have a qualifying child or qualifying relative who has lived in your home for at least six months out of the year. You must also have provided more than half of the cost of upkeep for the home you and your qualifying child or relative lived in for at least six months of the year.
  
  

Standard Deduction

• The base head of household standard deduction for the 2010 tax year is $8400; however, taxpayers must fill out a worksheet from the IRS because their standard deduction may vary from that based on how much their income was. The IRS Worksheet 20-1. 2010 Standard Deduction Worksheet includes instructions for finding your standard deduction. Essentially, if your earned income is more than $650, then you add $300 to that. If this total is less than the base $8400 you will use it as your standard deduction instead of using the base amount.
  
  

Tax Refund

• The actual amount of money you receive as a tax refund payment depends upon other specific circumstances, such as whether you have deductible items or additional taxes, and whether you qualify for the Earned Income Credit.
  
  

Other Deductions or Taxes

• Other circumstances have an effect on how much money you receive on taxes. If you are self employed and did not pay enough in estimated taxes through the year, for example, you may owe additional taxes when filing your return. If you have one or more qualifying children on your tax return, and your income does not exceed the minimum, you may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. You may qualify for additional household or childcare deductions or deductions for purchasing a new car. In any of these cases, the money you receive as a credit or tax refund payment can be higher or lower because of the adjustments that must be made to your totals when filing the return.