How can my boyfriend claim me and my son but not our daughter together when we live together and I'm a stay at home mom?

[Jashewa1986]

How can I claim my own daughter if me and the mom are not married but live with each other

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

When two people live together unmarried, only one parent may claim the child or children, they can't be claimed twice.  Also, the ability to "split" certain benefits which is allowed for parents who live apart and share custody, is not allowed for unmarried parents living together, and you should answer "no" to any questions about sharing custody or custody agreements since that only applies to parents living apart and sharing custody as a result of a divorce or separation.

If the child is the biological or legal child of both parents, and lives in the same home with both parents, then either parent can claim the child as long as you both agree.  (Legal parent means adopted, or a step-child boy marriage.)  If you can't agree, the first tie breaker is which parent did the child live with more, and if the child lived with both parents the same number of days, the second tiebreaker goes to the parent with the higher income.  But as long as you agree, either parent can claim the child.

If one adult is the child's parent but the other adult is not the child's parent, then usually the adult who is the parent must claim the child.  The only way the child can be claimed by the adult who is not a parent, is if all these tests are met:

1. The parent's income is less than $15,000 (for 2025) and the parent does not file a tax return, or only files a return to get a refund of withheld taxes and claims no other benefits, credits or deductions.

2. No other biological or legal parent has a right to claim the child.

3. The non-parent and the child lived in the same home all 365 days of the year.

4. The non-parent paid more than half the child's expenses.

5. The child has less than $5400 of taxable income.  

An adult can only claim another adult they are not related to, if all these tests are met.

1. The partner and taxpayer lived in the same home all 365 days of the year.

2. The taxpayer paid more than half the other person's expenses.

3. The other person has less than $5400 of taxable income.  

4. The other person does not file a tax return, or only files a return to get a refund of withheld taxes and claims no other benefits, credits or deductions.

5. The other person can't claim a dependent of their own.

[xmasbaby0]

You are not being clear.   First you post as if you are the "stay at home mom" but later post as if you are the boyfriend who wants to claim a dependent.    

It is not clear from your post whether you had any income from working.   If you had no income from working, then claiming a dependent does nothing for you.   Unless you had income from working you are not eligible for refundable child-related credits like earned income credit or child tax credit.   And...if you are claimed as a dependent by your BF, you cannot claim a dependent yourself.  A person who can be claimed as someone else's dependent cannot have a dependent.

If you and your BF lived together for the entire year in 2024, and you had less than $5050 of income (except for Social Security) then BF may be able to claim you as a qualified relative dependent for the $500 credit for other dependents, and he may claim the child as his dependent for Head of Household filing status and to get child-related credits.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2024 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $5050 in 2024 (not counting Social Security)
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

[VolvoGirl]

How old are the children?   Are you and the person you live with both the parents of all the kids?   Or is there another parent?   Is someone’s return being rejected for the dependent ssn?   

Was one born last year?    If you had a child born in 2024- Add them under Personal Info or My Info. You need to answer 2 questions…..

Did your child live with you for the WHOLE year? Answer YES even if they were born late in the year (even on Dec 31).

Then was at least half of child's expenses paid by CHILD? Usually is NO.