So the children live with us about 10 months out of the year. The parents are married but have not lived together for years. Mom does not pay any child support. Each parent claims one child on their taxes each year. Am I able to claim one of them instead of her?
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I do not intend to come across as rude, so please don't take it that way. It's just that the only way I know to say this, is to just "call it like I see it", with no offense or ill will intended.
As I see it, you're living with a married man. You have no claim to any of his children no matter how you look at it. Understand that for divorced or separated parents, (apparently separated in your case) the IRS has specific and explicit rules for who can claim the child(ren). You as a "third party" totally unrelated to the child or their parents in any way, form or fashion do NOT figure into those rules. Basically, the IRS rules define the custodial parent, and the non-custodial parent. The IRS rules can NOT be over ridden by any divorce degree, separation agreement, custody agreement, or court order. Only a federal judge can over ride the IRS rules, and since federal judges don't handle divorces, separations, or child custody issues, that's never gonna happen.
THe IRS defines the custodial parent as:
- The parent with whom the child lived for more than 182 nights of the year, and;
- The parent who provided more than 50% of the child's support for the entire year.
The IRS defines the non-custodial parent as the one who does not meet the requirements to be the custodial parent. However, in the case of a tie, the IRS tiebreaker rules say the parent with the highest AGI claims the child(ren).
If your BF qualifies to claim the child(ren) yet choses not to claim them, then he can sign an IRS Form 8332 releasing his right to claim the child(ren) to the mother for the tax year. He can NOT release his right to claim the child(ren) to you, or anyone else for that matter.
The answer is actually very simple. Since the children are not related to you in any way, they would have to live with you all 12 months for you to claim them as a dependent. Since they don't, you cannot.
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