Can I claim my boyfriends son on my taxes since my boyfriend didn't work? and he has joint custody of his son and it is his year to claim his son on taxes?

[pinkalli]

My boyfriend has joint custody of his son and it is his year to claim his son for tax purposes according to the custody agreement.

[Coleen3 · Accepted solution]

No. The two possible ways to claim someone both involve residency. A parent will always have the bigger right if there is a dispute as to who can claim the child. See below. The child is not related to you.

Qualifying Child

Relationship — the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (whether by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or step-sibling, or a descendant of one of these.

Residence — has the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents, kidnapped children, temporary absences, and for children who were born or died during the year.

Age — must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.

Support — did not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year.

[macuser_22]

A non-related dependent must have lived with you the entire year (all 365 days) and you must have provided more than  half of their total support.