Can i claim my ITIN girlfriend

[cmkimsel]

My brother has been separated for over 10 years so I've been filing, Married filing Separately. Last year (2017) his long time girlfriend and him had a son. I'm claiming the son as a dependent. The girlfriend took off the last year to raise their son. She has an ITIN and has no wages for FY 2018. Can he claim her as a dependent as well?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

Yes, if she lived with him ALL year, in the U.S.

A person can still be a Qualifying relative** dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year

2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4150 ($4,050 in 2016-17)

3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico

5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own

6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

He must have a US social security number or tax identification number (TIN)

**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 a residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

[cmkimsel]

Thank you, this is absolutely an amazing start. Follow up question:

5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own

For the second part of #5, will he lose the Child Tax Credit by adding her? We want to keep the QC dependent as he is their son together.

[Hal_Al]

No, he will not lose the CTC  by claiming the child's mother, since she is not claiming the child. Since they are not married, either one of them (but not both) can claim the child.