Financially support another person

[yingnan0122]

My girlfriend live with me all the time in 2016. I am US permanent resident and she is international student with student VISA. In 2016, I support her all the living expense with my salary. But she paid her tuition from family support from China since she did not have a job and did not have income. Could I add her as a "support" person?  

[Patrice]

It depends on a few factors.  One of which is residency.  If she is not a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico then you cannot add her as a "support" person.

A girlfriend can be claimed as a dependent if they pass some of the same tests used to determine if your child or relative can be claimed as a dependent.

First, your significant other cannot be claimed as a dependent if they are eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another tax return. Whether your boyfriend or girlfriend is being claimed is irrelevant, it’s the eligibility that matters. Once you see the rules, especially the residency and support rules, this will make perfect sense. So, if your significant other’s parents could claim them, you cannot. Your significant other also cannot file a joint tax return, in most cases, and must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

That’s the first phase of tests.

If he or she passes those rules, these four “tests” will need to be passed to qualify as a dependent. He or she:

• Is not a “qualifying child” of a taxpayer. The IRS has specific qualifying child rules based on relationship, age, residency, and joint return
• Earned less than $4,000 in taxable income (amount of the personal exemption) in 2015
• Did not provide over half of his or her own support
• Lived with you all year as a member of your household (keep in mind: dependent relatives do not have to live with you)

As you can see, the tests make it impossible for someone to be claimed as a dependent on two returns. Either you provided their support or someone else did.

If your significant other passes these tests, TurboTax makes it easy to claim the dependent exemption by asking simple questions about your life.

If you and your significant other are living together and considering this route, there are also other ways you can save a lot of money by integrating your finances, without having to get married. For example, you could combine auto insurance policies for a multi-car discount. It might not be as romantic as getting married, but it could result in big savings over the course of a year!

[yingnan0122]

Thank you so much for your answer. I may need to add some of her condition that you may better understand our condition. I am Green Card Holder (Permanent Resident) and she is international student of F-1 Visa. We live in USA for almost 10 years and we spend almost move than 11 months in USA every year. So does she considered as resident? We live in New York City together all the year of 2016 in the same place. She went to graduate school all the year of 2016. Her family who were live in China as Chinese citizen support her tuition and I support her living expense. She did not have any income on 2015 and 2016.