It depends on a few factors. One of which is residency. If she is not a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico then you cannot add her as a "support" person.
A girlfriend can be
claimed as a dependent if they pass some of the same tests used to determine if
your child or relative can be claimed as a dependent.
First, your significant other
cannot be claimed as a dependent if they are eligible to be claimed as a
dependent on another tax return. Whether your boyfriend or girlfriend is being claimed is irrelevant, it’s the eligibility that matters.
Once you see the rules, especially the residency and support rules, this will
make perfect sense. So, if your significant other’s parents could claim them,
you cannot. Your significant other also cannot file a joint tax return, in most
cases, and must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a resident of
Canada or Mexico.
That’s the first phase of tests.
If he or she passes those rules,
these four “tests” will need to be passed to qualify as a dependent. He or she:
- Is not a
“qualifying child” of a taxpayer. The IRS has specific qualifying child
rules based on relationship, age, residency, and joint return
- Earned less
than $4,000 in taxable income (amount of the personal exemption) in 2015
- Did not
provide over half of his or her own support
- Lived with
you all year as a member of your household (keep in mind: dependent
relatives do not have to live with you)
As you can see, the tests make it
impossible for someone to be claimed as a dependent on two returns. Either you
provided their support or someone else did.
If your significant other passes these
tests, TurboTax makes it easy to claim the dependent exemption by
asking simple questions about your life.
If you and your significant other
are living together and considering this route, there are also other ways you
can save a lot of money by integrating your finances, without having to get
married. For example, you could combine auto insurance policies for a multi-car
discount. It might not be as romantic as getting married, but it could result
in big savings over the course of a year!
