My girlfriend and I live together and we have a one year old daughter. I work full time and she works part time. Which of us should claim our daughter to maximize return?

[acssgt316]

I work full time and she works part time. I pay much more in taxes so I assume that I would get more back by claiming my daughter but I also suspect that my girlfriend might qualify for eic. Which would get us a bigger combined return?

[KenH1 · Accepted solution]

You should try it out both ways, assuming you both meet the rules to claim her as a dependent (see below). 

It is quite possible that the part-time worker would qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2016 taxes as long as they meet all of the following requirements :

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info
• They made less than $4,050 in gross income during 2016 unless they are a qualifying child.
• They live with you or they are related to you.
• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren't (or won't be) claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• You are not being claimed as a dependent on someone else's return.