Can I claim my live-in boyfriend as a dependent?

[tmstelter]

My boyfriend lived with me for all of 2016, does not have an income, no one else can claim him as a dependent, and i paid over half of his living expenses. Can I claim him?

[IreneS · Accepted solution]

Maybe.  You may be able to claim your boyfriend as a dependent if he meets the four tests as a "qualifying relative." 

1. Not a qualifying child - Since he is your boyfriend, he could not be a qualifying child.
2. Member of household or relationship test – Since your boyfriend is not legally related to you, he must have lived with you all year as a member of your household; 
3. Gross income test - To meet this test, a person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050.  Gross income is all income in the form of money, property, and services that isn't exempt from tax.
4. Support test - To meet this test, you generally must provide more than half of a person's total support during the calendar year.  You figure whether you have provided more than half of a person's total support by comparing the amount you contributed to that person's support with the entire amount of support that person received from all sources. This includes support the person provided from his or her own funds.