Federal Income Tax Calculator – Head of Household
Estimate your U.S. federal income tax if you file as Head of Household. Includes 2024 and 2025 brackets, standard deduction, effective tax rate, and comparison to other filing statuses.
Head of Household Tax Calculator
Use your taxable income after adjustments and deductions. If you only know gross income, use the “Standard deduction” option below.
Simplified estimate of the Child Tax Credit. Actual credit can vary based on income and other factors.
For example: education credits, foreign tax credit, etc.
Results (Head of Household)
Compare to other filing statuses
See how your estimated federal tax would change if you qualified for a different filing status with the same taxable income.
| Status | Taxable income | Tax before credits | Effective rate |
|---|
This comparison ignores differences in standard deduction and credits between filing statuses. It is meant to illustrate how brackets differ.
Head of Household tax bracket breakdown
How your taxable income is split across the federal tax brackets for the selected year.
| Bracket | Taxable in bracket | Rate | Tax from bracket |
|---|
How this Head of Household tax calculator works
This tool estimates your U.S. federal income tax if you file as Head of Household (HOH) for tax years 2024 and 2025. It uses the official IRS tax brackets and standard deduction for HOH, then applies a simplified Child Tax Credit and any other non‑refundable credits you enter.
Step 1 – Adjusted gross income (AGI)
For simplicity, the calculator assumes the income you enter is already your AGI (after above‑the‑line adjustments such as traditional IRA contributions, HSA, etc.).
Step 2 – Standard vs. itemized deductions
You can choose between:
- Standard deduction (HOH) – the default, based on the selected tax year.
- Itemized deductions – if your deductible expenses (mortgage interest, state/local taxes subject to limits, charitable gifts, etc.) exceed the standard deduction.
The calculator subtracts your deduction from AGI to get taxable income:
Taxable income = max(0, AGI − deductions)
Step 3 – Apply Head of Household tax brackets
Taxable income is then split across the HOH tax brackets for the chosen year. For each bracket, only the portion of income within that range is taxed at that rate.
Conceptually:
Tax before credits = Σ (income in bracket × bracket rate)
The “Bracket breakdown” table above shows exactly how much of your income falls into each bracket and how much tax comes from each slice.
Step 4 – Child Tax Credit and other credits
The calculator estimates the Child Tax Credit (CTC) using a simplified model:
- Base credit per qualifying child under 17.
- Phase‑out begins once income exceeds a threshold.
- Credit cannot reduce tax below zero (non‑refundable portion only).
You can also enter additional non‑refundable credits (education credits, foreign tax credit, etc.). The total credits are limited so that:
Final tax owed = max(0, tax before credits − total credits)
Effective vs. marginal tax rate
- Marginal tax rate – the rate applied to your last dollar of taxable income (your bracket).
-
Effective tax rate – your total tax divided
by AGI:
Effective rate = (final tax owed ÷ AGI) × 100%
Your effective rate is always lower than your marginal rate because only part of your income is taxed at the top bracket.
Who qualifies as Head of Household?
In general, you may qualify as Head of Household if:
- You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year.
- You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.
- A qualifying person (such as a child or certain relatives) lived with you for more than half the year, with limited exceptions.
Because the rules are detailed and can change, always confirm your status using the latest IRS guidance or a qualified tax professional.
Limitations and important notes
- This calculator focuses on federal income tax only. It does not include Social Security, Medicare, or state/local taxes.
- It uses a simplified model for the Child Tax Credit and does not handle all special cases (additional child tax credit, refundable portions, complex phase‑outs).
- It does not calculate other credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), education credits in detail, or premium tax credits.
- Tax law can change; always verify current brackets, deductions, and credit rules with the IRS.
This tool is for educational and planning purposes and is not a substitute for professional tax advice or official IRS calculations.