You might be able to claim the child as a qualifying relative, but not as your own child. Does your girlfriend have income?If so, she would be the person to claim the child.
A child isn't your
qualifying relative if the child is your qualifying child or the qualifying
child of any other taxpayer.
Below are the requirements:
- Do they live
with you? Your relative must live at your residence all year or be on the
list of “relatives who do not live with you” in Publication 501. About 30 types of relatives are on this
list.
- Do they make less
than $4,050? Your relative cannot have a gross income of more
than $4,050 and be claimed by you as a dependent.
- Do you financially support
them? You must provide more than half of your relative’s total
support each year.
- Are they a
citizen or resident? The person must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S.
national, a U.S. resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. Many people
wonder if they can claim a foreign-exchange student who temporarily lives
with them. The answer is maybe, but only if they meet this requirement.
-
Are you the
only person claiming them as a dependent? You can’t claim someone who
takes a personal exemption for himself or claims another dependent on his
own tax form.
- Are they
filing a joint return? You cannot claim someone who is married and
files a joint tax return. Say you support your married teen-aged son: If
he files a joint return with his spouse, you can’t claim him as a
dependent.
