I live with my girlfriend who is the mother of my 2 children. She has earned no income all year. Can I claim her as a dependent? All bills are paid from my income.

Girlfriend has not worked in 2017 at all and earned no income.  I have supported her and my 2 children and we have an agreement that I can claim her if it is possible.  I recently purchased a house this year and am hoping that this may be an option for a little extra support.  Thanks

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Did she live with you all of 2017?

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Yes she did, she's lived with me for years but I haven't thought about claiming her until someone suggested it.

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You may be able to amend for 2014, 2015 and 2016 to claim her. Earlier years are time-barred.

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That's awesome news!  Thank you so much!

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You can claim a non-relative as a dependent on your tax return under the Qualifying Relative rules if they meet all the requirements under the rules.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household. 

3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count) in 2017

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.

6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

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Thank you so much for the information.  I looked on the help log but it only referenced relatives.  This helps immensely!