topic Can i claim my girlfriend on my taxes if she lives with me but we arent married? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Can i claim my girlfriend on my taxes if she lives with me but we arent married?

stephencarroll — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 09:48:58 GMT

Re: Can i claim my girlfriend on my taxes if she lives with me but we arent married?

xmasbaby0 — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 13:20:36 GMT

If your GF lived with you for the whole year in 2023 and had less than $4700 of income --not including any Social Security----then she might meet the criteria to be claimed as a "qualified relative" dependent for the $500 credit for other dependents. Here is the criteria:

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 $4,700 in 2023.
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.

Related Information:

What does "financially support another person" mean?

CREDIT FOR OTHER DEPENDENTS

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

Re: Can i claim my girlfriend on my taxes if she lives with me but we arent married?

Hal_Al — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 13:23:17 GMT

Maybe, she must have lived with you all year and have little income of her own.

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("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 $4700 (2023) ($4400 for 2022).
The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support
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

Even if she qualifies as a dependent, she is not a qualifying person for you to file as "Head of Household" She must be related to you, for that.