Stay at home dad

[Moorebarryah]

I stay home with my three children.  Me an my partner are not married she takes care of the bills.  Should she claim me or me fill alone even though i have no imcome?

[DoninGA]

You may be able to be claimed as a nonrelative dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules if you meet all the requirements.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,200 (social security does not count) in 2019
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

[Hal_Al]

You say 'My" three children rather than "our" three children.  That usually makes s difference.

The money you hear about people getting for just filing a tax return claiming kids requires them to  have some earned income (wages or self employment). Without earned income, they are not eligible for the "refundable" Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit.  Both credits are calculated on the amount of earned income you have. No earned income means no "refund".  So, no, you should not claim the kids or even file a tax return.

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 residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

She cannot claim your kids as QC, but can as qualifying relatives (QR), if she lived with them all year. That will get her the $500 "other dependent credit", rather than the $2000 child tax credit.  She can also (apparently) claim you as a QR