Your boyfriend cannot claim you because you made more than $4050. But he can claim the kids, because you made less than $10,400*.
BUT, your child may qualify as a
dependent, but because he is not related, he cannot be your BF's qualifying child for
the earned income credit, child tax credit or Head of Household filing status.
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, a relationship test and a residence
test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned
Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
A person can still be a Qualifying
relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for
claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live
with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 (2016-17)
3. The taxpayer must have
provided more than 1/2 his support
In either case:
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada
or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint
return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the
qualifying child of another taxpayer*
*In addition to the above requirements, to
claim your boy/girlfriend's children, they must meet all of the above
requirements and:
--- your boy/girlfriend must not be required
to file a return,
--- he/she does not file a return claiming the
children
So, if your $6000 of income was from self employment, and not W-2 wages, you are required to file a return and your BF cannot claim your kids
