California Form 3532: Head of Household Filing Status

California Form 3532, the Head of Household Filing Status Schedule, is a required attachment for state tax returns when claiming the Head of Household (HOH) status. The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) requires this form to verify that a taxpayer meets the specific criteria for this filing status. Failure to attach a completed Form 3532 to a Form 540 will result in the denial of the HOH filing status.

Determining if You Must File Form 3532

The primary requirement for HOH status is that you were unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year. This includes individuals who are single, divorced, or legally separated. Certain married individuals may be “considered unmarried” if they lived apart from their spouse for the last six months of the year and meet other specific conditions.

A second condition is that you must have paid more than half of the costs associated with maintaining your home for the year. These costs are the expenses required to run the household, such as rent, mortgage interest, property taxes, and utilities. The total amount of these expenses is calculated for the year, and you must have personally paid over 50% of that total.

The final test involves a qualifying person living with you. A qualifying child or a qualifying relative must have lived with you in your home for more than half the year. There is an exception for a dependent parent; you may still qualify for HOH status even if your parent does not live with you, provided you pay more than half the cost of keeping up their main home for the entire year.

Information Needed to Complete Form 3532

Before filling out Form 3532, you must gather specific details about your qualifying person and your household expenses. The form is divided into parts, each requiring distinct information.

Part I of the form focuses on the qualifying person. You will need to provide their full name, their relationship to you, and their Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). You must also indicate the number of days the person lived with you during the tax year. For a qualifying relative, you will need to confirm that their gross income was below the specified limit for the tax year.

Part II serves as a worksheet to calculate the cost of keeping up your home. You must list the total amounts paid for specific categories of household expenses. Includable costs are:

• Rent
• Mortgage interest
• Real estate taxes
• Home insurance
• Repairs
• Utilities
• Food consumed within the home

The form specifically excludes expenses such as clothing, education, medical treatments, life insurance, and transportation.

How to Submit Form 3532

Once completed, the form must be submitted with your main California tax return. The form itself is not filed independently but acts as a supporting schedule. It must be attached directly to your Form 540, California Resident Income Tax Return, or Form 540NR for nonresidents and part-year residents.

For those who e-file, tax preparation software automatically handles this process. As you answer questions about your filing status and dependents, the software will generate Form 3532 and include it in the electronic submission package sent to the FTB. No separate action is needed to attach the form if you are filing electronically.

If you are filing a paper return, you must physically attach the completed Form 3532 behind your Form 540 or 540NR. The FTB reserves the right to request additional documentation in the future to substantiate your HOH claim, so it is important to keep records of your household expenses.