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Can I claim my fiance's children even though they are not mine? She does not work and I provide everything for them.

I pay all bills and provide all food.
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2 Replies

Can I claim my fiance's children even though they are not mine? She does not work and I provide everything for them.

You may be able to claim them as dependents under the Qualifying Relative rules if they meet all the requirements under the rules.

 

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 $5,050 (social security does not count) in 2024
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 with the following exception -
You can claim a person as a dependent who files a joint return if that person and that person’s spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.

Can I claim my fiance's children even though they are not mine? She does not work and I provide everything for them.

Maybe----but claiming them will not make you eligible for Head of Household filing status.   

 

If your GF and the children lived with you the WHOLE year, and you provided over half their support, you may be able to claim GF and the children as "qualified relatives" to get the $500 credit for other dependents for them.   You will not get the child tax credit or earned income credit for claiming your GF's children.

 

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

 

Qualifying relative

  • They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
  • They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
  • They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
  • They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
  • They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
  • They made less than $5050 in 2024 (not counting Social Security)
  • You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

 

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
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