Q. Can the man that lives there where my child resides claim my daughter as a dependent on his taxes for anything?
A. Yes, probably*. But he can only claim the child for the up to $500 other dependent credit. It would be fraud for him to claim the Child Tax credit (up to $2000) or earned Income Credit (EIC) based on an unrelated child.
The other question is: if neither the ex wife or boyfriend claim the child, on their taxes, can you? The answer is no. To do so, you must have her permission. The custodial parent has first priority on claiming the children on her taxes; regardless of the amount of support provided by the non-custodial parent and regardless of her income. The IRS goes by physical custody, not legal custody. The non-custodial parent can only claim the child as a dependent if the custodial parent gives permission (on form 8332) or if it's spelled out in a pre 2009 court order. Even if a court order, dated after 2008, gives the non-custodial parent the right to claim the child, he must still get form 8332 from the custodial parent. A properly worded decree should require her to provide that form. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf
But if you do claim the child, you will receive the Child Tax Credit, usually a $1500 difference from what the boy friend can legally receive. So, you may want to make a deal with the ex. As the non custodial parent, you are not eligible for the child based EIC.
*The $600/month disability ($7200/year) does not count as income, for the income test, but it does count as support not provided by the boy friend, for the support test. So, maybe not.
There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit and student status test, a relationship test and a residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. The Other dependent (qualifying relative) credit is worth (up to) $500 per dependent and is non-refundable. That is, it can only be used to reduce an actual tax liability.
A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:
- Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
- His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4200
- The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support
In either case:
- He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
- He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
- He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer (your child is not your QC because she does not live with you more than half the year)
In addition to the above requirements, to claim your girlfriend's children, they must meet all of the above requirements and:
--- your girlfriend must not be required to file a return,
--- she does not file a return claiming the children
