Child credit / claiming

[Aaron3426]

So my address is at my mother's place, but I've stayed elsewhere for the past 9 months. My girlfriend is having a baby Dec 24th, and I plan on claiming my baby on my taxes this upcoming tax year.  Do I have to be head of household to claim my baby? My address is my moms but I don't pay anything there and she doesn't pay for anything for me. I'm not on my gf's lease so I can't claim the baby at her address or it could mess with her taxes

[Critter-3]

Since you are unmarried you can claim the child without being HOH ... however if you don't live together then the custodial parent rules come into play.  You will need to decide who is eligible to claim the child and who will claim the child .... so before either of you file anything you need to consider all the options.  

[DoninGA]

If you are not legally married to her in 2020 then only one of you can claim the child on their tax return.

To be Head of Household you must provide over one-half the cost to maintain the home and have a qualified person as a dependent - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/family/help/do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household/01/25539

The child must be living in your home in 2020 so if your current place of residence is not in the home of the mother of the child you cannot claim the child on your tax return.

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

[Hal_Al]

If both you and your gf live together with the baby, from it's birth until the end of the year, then either of you can claim the child, and the child tax credit, on your tax return.  It does not matter what address you use. 

However, the statement  "I can't claim the baby at her address or it could mess with her taxes" indicates that either you or her or both of you are planning on doing something that is not allowed. 

As others have said. either one of you can claim the child, but not both.  You are allowed to decide between you who that will be.  Only if you can't agree do the IRS rules govern.  The it's the parent with the highest income (assuming you both live with the baby an equal amount of time). 

Neither of you have to be Head of Household (HoH) to claim the child.  But nobody can be HoH, unless they are claiming a qualifying dependent.  You do not have to be "on the lease" to be HoH, you only have to have paid most of the household expenses, which usually includes the rent. 

[Opus 17]

To claim the child as a dependent, you and the child must live in the same home for more than half the number of days it is alive in 2020.  If you and the mother both qualify under this rule, only one of you can claim the child. The other parent should leave the child completely off their tax return.  It doesn't matter what the address on your tax return is -- that's only for where you want the IRS to send any checks or letters.

In Turbotax, select that the child lived with you "all year" -- that is the correct answer for a child born during the year. Do not answer "yes" that you have a custody agreement, that only applies to a court order between parents who are divorced or separated.