We have one joint child together but she has two of her own. Can i claim all three as mine? I provide full support. We are not married.
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You can claim a boyfriend or girlfriend and their children as dependents if they are your qualifying relatives.
Boyfriend/Girlfriend: To be a qualifying relative (dependent) you don't have to be an actual relative - however,
whoever claims them must provide more than 1/2 of the individuals support,
they must not earn more than $3,950 in 2014 (social security doesn't count),
they must not file a joint return with another
If not an actual relative, they must live with the person claiming them all 365 days of the year
they must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
they are not a qualifying child of another taxpayer.
Boyfriend/Girlfriend's Children: In addition to the above requirements, to claim your boy/girlfriend's children who are not also your children, they must meet all of the above requirements and:
your boy/girlfriend must not be required to file a return,
he/she does not file a return claiming the children, and
they meet all of the requirements above to be a qualifying relative.
An additional issue - a boyfriend/girlfriend and their child (who is not also your child) will not qualify you for Head of Household because you are not related. Also, the child will not qualify you for earned income credit, child tax credit or the child and dependent care credit (again, because you're not related.)
Certain relatives who qualify as your dependents don't necessarily need to live with you. Here is a list of relatives who might qualify as your dependent, if they meet certain requirements (see below):
Furthermore, relative must also:
My girlfriend lives with me and has for over a year. Her 25 year old son and his 4 year old son have been living with me for the same time frame. I fully support them. Does this qualify me for "Head of Household"? If yes, can I claim both the the son and grandson, or just the grandson?
Thanks,
No. People who are not blood-related to you cannot qualify you to file as Head of Household. So even IF you can claim any of them as dependents, they do not qualify you to file HOH. You *might* be able to claim them as "qualified relative" dependents (even though they are not related to you) and get the $500 credit for other dependents. You cannot get any child-related credits for the 4 year old like earned income credit, child tax credit, or childcare credit.
As for your GF, her son and the grandchild--Did your GF have over $4200 of income in 2019? Did her son have over $4200 of income in 2019? If the answer is yes to either one, you cannot claim them as dependents. Is the son going to file a tax return and claim his child? If so you cannot claim the child.
WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?
You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2018 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:
Qualifying child
• They are related to you.
• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
Qualifying relative
• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year.
• They made less than $4,150 in 2018
• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info
When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.
Related Information:
• Does a dependent have to live with me?
• What does "financially support another person" mean?
Am I Head of Household?
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household
"Does this qualify me for "Head of Household"? "
No. To qualify for HOH filing status, your "qualifying child or dependent" child must be your biological child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, step sibling, half sibling, or a descendant (child, grandchild, great grandchild, etc.) of one of these relatives.
Can I claim my boyfriends kid if, I have taken care of the kid the whole year, the kid has lived with us? And what can I do if the mother claims her but hasn’t been in her life?
You can claim the child as a dependent if certain criteria are met. There are two types of dependents, each subject to different rules:
For both types of dependents, you’ll need to answer the following questions to determine if you can claim them.
Dependent taxpayer test: The taxpayer, or spouse of the taxpayer if filing jointly, cannot be eligible to be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s tax return.
Married Filing Jointly test: If you file a joint return with your spouse, you cannot be treated as a dependent. (This rule does not apply if the joint return was filed only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they had filed separate returns).
Citizen or resident test: The person claimed as a dependent must be either a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. An adopted child that lived with the taxpayer all year passes this test if the taxpayer is a U.S. citizen or U.S. national.
Qualifying Child
In addition to the above, you must be able to answer "yes" to all of the following questions to claim an exemption for your child.
Relationship test: The child must be the taxpayer’s son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of these, such as the taxpayer’s grandchild, niece, or nephew.
Residency test: The child must have lived with the taxpayer for more than half of 2019.
Age test: The child must be
• Under age 19 at the end of the tax year and younger than the taxpayer (or spouse), or
• Under age 24 at the end of 2019, a full-time student for any part of five calendar months during the tax year, and younger than the taxpayer (or spouse), or
• Permanently and totally disabled at any age
Support Test: The child cannot have provided more than 1/2 of his/her own support during the tax year. Welfare, TANF, and scholarships received by the child are not considered support.
Qualifying Relative
Relationship or Member of Household Test: To be considered a qualifying relative, a person must be:
Not a Qualifying Child Test: The relative cannot be a qualifying child of any other taxpayer for the year.
Gross Income Test: The relative's gross income must be less than $4200 for the year. Gross income is all income that is not tax-exempt. Examples of gross income include taxable Social Security benefits, taxable unemployment compensation, and certain scholarships and fellowships (i.e., monies used to pay higher education expenses other than tuition, fees, supplies, books, and course-required equipment).
Support Test: The taxpayer must have provided over 1/2 of the relative's support during the year. This test does not apply to persons who qualify as dependents under the children of divorced or separated parents rule and multiple support agreements.
If you meet the criteria to claim the child as a dependent and your return is rejected because someone else claimed the child, there is a process in place to remedy this. If you qualify to claim the child under the law, file a paper return and claim the child as a dependent. This will start action on the part of the IRS to determine who actually qualifies to claim the child.
So after reading everything. I cannot claim my gf or her son because my address is different from theirs even though I have lived with them and provided half if not more.
Your mailing address is not a qualifying factor in determining if you can claim your girl friend and her son. If you provided more than 1/2 of their support through the tax year, they do not need to have lived with you.
So then there’s no point to claim the dependents if they can’t qualify him for any tax credits.
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