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Mallory
New Member

Can I claim my boyfriend as a dependent?

We purchased a house together in 2013. Last year he was not able to file taxes as he was on Workman's Comp for an injury. He did receive disability checks but the money was nowhere near enough to cover expenses. Can I claim him an a dependent?
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2 Replies

Can I claim my boyfriend as a dependent?

You can only claim a non-relative as a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules if they meet all the requirements.  The main requirements are that they lived in your home as a member of your household for the entire year.  That they had gross income of less than $4,050 (Social Security does not count).  And that you provided over one-half of their support.  Since he had income from Workman's Compensation and Disability payments you will need to use this IRS worksheet to determine support - https://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household. 

3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count) in 2017

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.

6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

Hal_Al
Level 15

Can I claim my boyfriend as a dependent?

The person's gross TAXABLE income for the year must be less than $4,050  in 2017.
Social security doesn't count as income, for the income test, nor does workman's compensation or non-taxable disability income*.  But that  money he spends on himself does count as support not provided by you, for the support test.
*Not all disability income is tax free. If he receives a W-2 (with an amount in box 1) or 1099-R, the income is considered taxable.
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