If claiming unmarried partner (stay at home parent for our 3 kids, no taxable income) I make about 30k annually would I get more? Would this affect government benefits?

[adrianamt18]

They fit the criteria for me to claim them.

[xmasbaby0]

We cannot tell you if there would be any effect on government benefits----that is a question to ask the agency that is providing the benefits.   We  answer income tax questions and questions about the tax software---we cannot determine your eligibility for government benefits like Medicaid, etc.

  ("our 3 kids")   If you are the bio-father of the children, then you can claim them as your dependents and file as Head of Household.  If these are not your biological children the answer changes---please explain-- are these your children?

If your GF lived with you all year, then she can be claimed as a dependent and you get the $500 credit for other dependents for claiming her.  If the children are your bio-children then you claim them as qualifying children and you get whatever child-related credits your earned income makes you eligible for--like earned income credit or the child tax credit including the refundable child tax credit.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

CREDIT FOR OTHER DEPENDENTS

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4499708-what-is-the-500-credit-for-other-dependents-family-tax-cre...

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2022 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,400 in 2022.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

[Opus 17]

If your unmarried partner had income from working, then there might be benefit to the partner claiming some of the children as dependents on their tax return while you claim the other children on your tax return.  There are a lot of factors and it is really impossible to figure out without actually testing different combinations.

But if your partner does not have income earned from working, then the only filing solution that makes sense is for you to claim all the children as dependents, and you probably also qualify to file as head of household.  If you also claim your partner as a dependent, you would be eligible for up to an additional $500 tax credit for "other dependents."

However, the credit for other dependents is non-refundable, that means it won't be paid or credited to your account unless you owe at least $500 of income tax.   Since you have 3 children, who will qualify for up to $2000 credit each, and your total income is only $30K, it seems most likely that claiming your partner as a tax dependent will not actually change your tax or refund.  You can try in the program, but it may make no difference.

We can't tell you if other government benefits might be at risk if you claim your partner as a dependent.  We don't know what benefits you are talking about or what the rules are.  If these benefits depend on the claim that no one else pays your partner's expenses, and that is untrue, then the benefits could be at risk no matter what you put on the tax return.  And it is also true that if you file a state tax return claiming your partner as a dependent, that information could be shared with other state agencies.