I’m being claimed as a dependent on my boyfriends taxes we share 1son but I’ve been made to not work. And then he give me no money

[fayerocket04]

I feel I am being taken advantage of by a boyfriend who has controlled my life for 16 years and now He’s collecting the money for our child and for myself meanwhile having me get Medicaid for myself and our son when he makes great money I need advice on what I can do about someone illegally claiming me as a dependent

[xmasbaby0]

Not sure what you mean by claiming you illegally.    If you lived with your BF for the whole year and had no income of your own, then he can claim you as a "qualified relative" dependent and get the $500 credit for other dependents and the third stimulus check for claiming you.    And if the child is his child, he can claim the child as his dependent and file as Head of Household.

Here are the rules for claiming a dependent.   Do you meet the criteria to be a qualifying relative?

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2020 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

•They are related to you.

•They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

•They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

•They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

•They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

•They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

•They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

•They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

•They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

•They lived with you the entire year.

•They made less than $4300  (not counting Social Security)

•You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

•Does a dependent have to live with me?

•What does "financially support another person" mean?

•Can I claim a newborn baby?

Some of the issues you mention are not really tax issues---

"...boyfriend who has controlled my life for 16 years...."

"I've been made to not work"

"I feel I'm being taken advantage of..."

"...and then he give me no money..."

Your issues with your boyfriend are complicated and are not the kind of issues we can advise you about in this income tax forum.   

[Mike9241]

what you may need more than tax advice is legal advice.

[Opus 17]

Your boyfriend may claim your shared son as a dependent if your son lives in the home with your boyfriend (his father) more than half the nights of the year, and if your boyfriend's taxable income is more than yours.

Your boyfriend may claim you as a dependent if you lived in his home the entire year, AND you have less than $4300 of taxable income, AND your boyfriend paid more than half your total support.  Support your boyfriend paid includes 1/3 of rent, utilities, food and other household expenses, plus your expenses for medical, travel, entertainment, and so on.  Government support is not provided by the boyfriend, so it is possible that your boyfriend does not pay more than half your total support once everything is calculated (Medicaid, food stamp, etc) but you would have to add everything up.

It is important to understand that if you qualify to be claimed as a dependent, you must answer "yes, I can be claimed as a dependent" even if you don't want to be claimed.  For 2020, this means you won't get a stimulus payment in your own name.  But if you filed a return and answered "no, I can't be claimed as a dependent" when you really could be, just to get the stimulus, that would be tax fraud.

Whether you can be claimed as a dependent is based on simple facts; where you live, how much you earn, and who supports you.  It is not a moral judgement or approval of your situation.  If you don't like your living situation, there are many options you might want to consider to change them, and many places where you can get help to move out of a bad situation.  But it's not a tax problem.