Health Insurance regarding dependents

[Amnyoung423]

Hey everyone!

My girlfriend currently lives with me and is pregnant. She gets Medi-Cal free from California because she is pregnant, doesn’t work, and doesn’t have any income. We moved in last December and I started claiming her as a dependent on my 2020 taxes because I pay for all her expenses. When our baby is born in July, do I have to put our baby on my own health insurance since I will claim her on my taxes as a dependent being that she’s my daughter, or can she be under her moms and get Insurance through California? Also, do I have to put my girlfriend on my health insurance as well since I claim her as a dependent or can she get her own insurance through California with our baby after our baby is born?

My girlfriend doesn’t file taxes and hasn’t had to being that she is a legal resident but lived in Mexico her entire life up until last year. 

If I don’t have our daughter on my health insurance do I loose the tax credit for her? What about my girlfriend being claimed as a dependent, do I need to have her on my insurance as well to not lose her tax credit?

Thanks in advance!

[BillM223]

Whether or not your girlfriend and future child should be covered by Medi-Cal or your health insurance is a question for those two organizations. They are not tax questions.

To get a tax benefit for them, they need to be your dependents. This is independent of how they are insured. 

Note that your girlfriend may qualify to be a "qualifying relative" while your child may qualify to be a "qualifying child". 

Please review the information about Dependents starting on page 25 of IRS Pub 17.

P.S. does your girlfriend have a Social Security number or ITIN? She will need it to appear on your tax return in 2020.