Should me or my partner claim baby? We live together but are unmarried. How do we decide this?

[MinhT1]

As you are not married, you have to file two separate returns.

One of you (usually the person with the higher income and considered as paying more than half of the costs of keeping up a home) will file as Head of Household and claim the child.

The other person will file as Single.

Remember that the Head of Household must claim the child.

Filing as Head of Household will result in less tax and more refund, as your income will fall in lower tax brackets and you will have a higher standard deduction.

There are conditions to satisfy in order to file as Head of household. You must:

• Pay for more than half of the household expenses
• Be considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year, and
• You must have a qualifying child or dependent.

Please read this TurboTax article for more information.