Can i claim my stepson but he owes the IRS money can they take my taxs if i claim him

[Rachel_W · Accepted solution]

No, the IRS will not take your refund to pay your Stepson's IRS debt if you claim him as a Dependent.

You may be able to claim your Stepson as a Dependent, if ALL of the following requirements are met: 

• He is a citizen of the US 
• He has taxable income of less than $4,150 during 2018
• He is not a qualifying Dependent of someone else
• He is not filing a joint return
• He lived with you all year if he is not under age 19 or under age 24 and a full time student.
• You provided more than 1/2 of his support. 
  

You can also check out this IRS Tool which walks you through a set of questions to help determine if you can claim someone as a Dependent:  https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent.