I am head of household and the only adult making income. Can I claim my fiance's children as dependents, if they live in our home majority time, & I support them fully?

[krichards2259]

The children live in my home that I share with my fiance, their father. I am head of household and my fiance provides no income, he receives child support from his ex. Can I claim his children as dependents because they live in my home majority time and I support them financially?

[xmasbaby0]

No.   You cannot use your BF's children as qualifying dependents to file as HOH because they are not related to YOU, and neither is your BF.  You must have a qualifying dependent who is related to you in order to file as HOH.   Or....do you have another child--who is related to you and who would be your qualifying dependent?

As for claiming them as dependents......they have to live with you the WHOLE year--not just "most" of the time in order for you to claim them as your dependents for the $500 credit for other dependents---which is the best you could get for claiming them.  You are not eligible to get child tax credit, earned income credit or childcare credit for your BF's children.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

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

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

If you qualify as Head of Household, when you enter your marital status (single or married filing separately) into MyInfo, and then enter your qualifying dependent, TurboTax will offer HOH as your filing status.

[Opus 17]

To claim children who are not related to you (by blood or marriage), they must meet the following tests.

1. No other taxpayer can claim them ahead of you.

2. They live with you all year as a member of your household.

3. You pay more than half their total financial support. 

4. They have less than $4700 of taxable income.

These tests also apply to claiming your fiancé as a dependent, as long as you are unmarried.

Even if they meet all the tests, they only qualify for a $500 credit, not the $2000 child tax credit, and they don;t qualify you to file as head of household or claim EIC or the dependent care credit.  You will still file as single.

For the taxpayer test, their father is a taxpayer if he has more than $13,700 of taxable income, or if he has less income but files a tax return to claim any credits or dependents.  He is only not a taxpayer if he does not file, or only files to get a refund of withholding and claims no other dependents or credits.  Or, if the father is your dependent, he can't claim any dependents even if he wanted to, and that would allow you to claim them.

For the "member of your household all year" test, you said they live there most of the year, not all of the year.  They must be members of your household for the whole year.  Temporary absences to visit grandparents, have a sleepover, summer camp, etc. don't change that they are part of your household.  But if they didn't join your household until after January 2, they aren't eligible for this year.