2017 is my year on parenting plan to claim my kids. Can my boyfriend claim them and me if I didnt work much this year? He's married but separated.

[j-leighprice86]

I get to claim my kids on taxes every other year according to a parenting plan. This year I didn't work much. My boyfriend wants to claim me and my kids. He is not their father and he is married. Their father gets to claim them in even years. Can he claim me and my kids?

[CarolynM · Accepted solution]

He may be able to claim you, but he may claim your kids. He may be able to claim you if:

·       He provided more than half of your support.

·       You made less than $4,050 in gross taxable income. 

·       You lived with him for the entire year.

·       You aren't a dependent on someone else’s taxes.

·       You aren't filing a joint return with someone else.

·       You are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident. 

You can use this IRS Support Worksheet  to see if he can claim you.

He is not eligible to claim your children under the Qualified Child Test. Since you are not wed, he does not have the qualifying relationship with your children per the IRS definition. Here is the test to determine if you can claim a child as a dependent: 

- be your child (or adoptive or foster child or step), sibling, niece, nephew or grandchild

- be under age 19, or under age 24 and a fulltime student for at least five months of the year; or be permanently disabled, regardless of age

- have lived with you for more than half the year; and 

-have provided no more than half his or her own support for the year.

However, he may be able to claim your children under the Qualifying Relative Test IF:

- they lived with him the entire year

- he provided more than half their support

- they did not earn more than $4,050

For more information, see this helpful article: 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/rules-for-claiming-a-dependent-on-your-tax-return/L8LODb...

[Edit 1/27/2018 10:50 AM PST]

[j-leighprice86]

Lets say mother and children are claimed on his taxes as dependants because taxes were done themselves instead on through a tax service provider to prevent it from being done.
Now their father is about to file taxes but doesn't plan on claiming them because he doesn't know if their mother had her boyfriend claim them or if she did. It isn't his year to claim them, but he could if mother filed them illegally under her boyfriend. How would he find out who claimed them so he can know if he can claim them?

[CarolynM]

The tax return of another person is private, so he wouldn't know unless he claimed them and the tax return was rejected because the dependents were already claimed.

[j-leighprice86]

So basically it can be gotten by with? The Mother has already illegally claimed the children before against the parenting plan and had no repercussion from the irs for it... Are these situations really not monitored?

[CarolynM]

The IRS does not have copies of parenting plans, so only way to enforce is through the courts. If the father learns the mother is violating the parenting plan, there could be consequences imposed by the presiding judge