1 rep said I file our girl as my dependent; 2 rep said partner puts girl as her dpndnt bc she provides more bc her account drafts daycare; & prtnr should be head of house

[colinb-schofield]

The first representative I spoke with said I should list our daughter as my dependent because I have a higher income.  However later, the second representative told me that my partner should have filed our daughter as her dependent because we are dragging payments for daycare from her bank account, so she would be the one providing more for our daughter. The second representative also said that my partner should be listed as the head of household. 

[Opus 17]

Do you live together unmarried with the child and the other parent?

[colinb-schofield]

Yes, we are unmarried.  And yes, we have lived together in various stages:  We stayed for almost three weeks at her mother's house (maternal grandmother).  I just kept bringing a backpack of clothes over to the Maternal-Gma's house, so I never moved in. Then we lived separately in each of our own family's homes for a short time, and baby stayed with mom and maternal grandma.  Now we have been living at my mom's house (paternal grandmother) with the whole new family: our baby, my partner, and myself (plus p-grandma).  My partner still has well over two-thirds of her belongings at maternal grandmother's house, so she is settled but not fully moved in.
I apologize for the complexity.

[TaxGuyBill]

Did the child live with both of you for over 6 months?  If so, you can pick which one of you to claim the child, and see which has the best results.  Only ONE of you should enter the child.

If the child only lived with one of you for over 6 months, that is the person that needs to claim the child.

There is also the possibility that one of the grandmas could claim the child.  However, as the parent, you get the first option to claim the child (IF the child lived with you for over 6 months).

[colinb-schofield]

Yes, our baby has been with both of us for over six months.  She turns seven months old at the end of this month.

I mentioned before that there was some house swapping and a few nights separate, but overall we have all been together.  Referencing the calendar, when mom and baby were at m-gma's and I was at p-gma's, there was two nights with me away from them; then one night with the three of us together; then three nights away again; and after that all three of us (mom, baby, and myself) have been together in one home (p-gma's) since then (barring someone visiting family or friends out of town for a night).

[SweetieJean]

So she was born in September of 2018?

[SweetieJean]

Then you need to look at where she lived from Sept-Dec of 2018.

[Opus 17]

No one can really tell you the best way to file without examining your family financial information in detail.  Here are some things you need to know.

1. You child can be the dependent of you, the other parent, or whichever grandparent the child lived with for more than half the days since she was born.  (But, the grandparent can only claim the child as a dependent if both parents agree and if the grandparent has more taxable income than either parent.)

2.  The child can only be the dependent of one person.  Any taxpayer who is not claiming the child as a dependent should not even list the child on their tax return.  

3. "Head of household" filing status only applies if the taxpayer claims a qualifying child dependent AND paid more than half the total cost of the home or homes where they lived and cared for the child.  Based on your store, it sounds like you or your partner paid more than half the total cost of living in all the different homes you lived in, so neither of you can legally file as head of household, no matter who claims the child.

4. If the grandparent who could claim the child, only has income from social security, and doesn't also have income from a job or pension, they won't get any tax benefit from claiming the child as a dependent. 

In the end, the strategy for the largest tax refund or least tax can only be determined by testing the different combinations.  You and your partner both file as single, either with a dependent or without.  Or, a grandparent claims the child, possibly allowing them to file as head of household.  In the past, the optimal strategy was usually to have the person with the highest income claim the child, but that may no longer be the case.  Anyone who does not have at least some income earned from working, is unlikely to get much tax benefit from claiming a dependent.  But if you, the other parent, and the grandparent all have income from working, then it really can't be guessed without testing all the combinations.  You might want to see an experienced tax professional.