Should my gf claim our son to get higher earned income credit? She makes 21k a year i make 31k

[TaxGuyBill · Accepted solution]

Try it both ways (assuming you both qualify to claim the child).

If you claim the child, your Earned Income Credit may be smaller (or non-existent), but you may qualify for Head of Household if you paid for over 50% of keeping up the home for your child.

I suspect it would probably result in a better overall outcome if your girlfriend claims the child, but again, you should test it both ways to see which way gives the best overall result (assuming you both qualify to claim the child).