I have guardianship of a minor child. Can I claim him as my son?

[marcoramirezh]

The child is my partners grandson

[xmasbaby0]

Please provide some details.   How long has the child lived with you?   Why is the child's parent or grandparent not claiming the child?

[NCperson]

@marcoramirezh simply go to the IRS app - it'll take about 5 minutes to figure it out...

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

Since the child is not a blood relative, you could only claim him as an "other relative" if these tests were passed 

1)Gross Income Test: Dependent’s gross income (excluding Social Security) less than $4700

2)Support Test: Taxpayer provides more than 50% of person’s support for the year

3)Household Member Test: lived with Taxpayer for the entire tax year

if so, then the tax credit would be up to $500, presuming that the child has a Social Security number and is a US citisen or resident alien. 

you would not be able to file HOH even if you could claim this child as there is no blood relationship.

[Hal_Al]

For tax purposes, foster children can be viewed as the same as biological children.  “You can claim a foster child dependent or adopted child dependent if the child was placed with you by one of these: 

• An authorized placement agency 
• Judgment, decree, or other court order"

Legal guardianship—where the child is placed with an adult by a court order— would meet this test (the child would be considered a “foster child” under this test), regardless of the actual biological relationship between the child and taxpayer.  Reference: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11853#:~:text=Legal%20guardianship%E2%80%94where%20....

[Opus 17]

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@NCperson wrote:

Since the child is not a blood relative, you could only claim him as an "other relative" if these tests were passed 

Not necessarily true.  A foster child is considered the same as a biological child as long as the placement was by the state or an approved state agency or process.  If the guardianship is informal, the child would be considered an unrelated person for dependent purposes.

[Opus 17]

Unfortunately, the answer is "maybe" and we need more information.

If the child lives in your home with your partner (the grandparent) and yourself more than half the year, and you are not married to the partner,  then your partner (the child's grandparent) has the better default claim to the child as a dependent.  If you have been legally appointed the child's guardian by the state, then you also have a claim.  (But I wonder then, why the state didn't appoint your partner.)

In the case where both you and your unmarried partner both qualify to claim the child as a dependent, then either one of you, but not both, can claim the child.  You can agree who will claim the child.  If you don't agree, the IRS has certain tie breaking rules you must follow.

If other adults live in your home with the child (such as one of the child's parents) then things get more complicated.