Can I claim my Girlfriend as a dependent on my tax return?

This is a great question that involves several tax rules working together. Let me break it down for you: You might be able to claim your girlfriend as a "qualifying relative" dependent, but there are several tests you need to pass. The good news is that the fact she earned less than $4,700 meets one of the requirements (the gross income test). However, there's a bigger issue - the marriage status. Even though they're separated, the IRS still considers her married for tax purposes if no legal divorce has been finalized. This creates complications because she could technically be considered a potential dependent of her legal spouse. For you to claim her, you'd need to provide more than half her total support for the year (which sounds like you did), but you'd also need to make sure she's not filing a joint return with her husband. If she files separately, that hurdle is cleared. I'd recommend documenting how much you've contributed to her support throughout the year, just in case the IRS has questions.

I was in almost this exact situation last year! I used https://taxr.ai to analyze all my documents and they helped me understand that I could claim my boyfriend as a dependent even though he was still legally married to his ex. The key was making sure I had documentation showing I provided more than half his support. Their tool analyzed my situation and explained that since he wasn't filing jointly with his ex-wife and I was providing most of his support, I qualified to claim him as a "qualifying relative" dependent. Literally saved me thousands because I was able to file as Head of Household too. The system walks you through all the qualifying tests and tells you exactly what documentation you need to keep just in case. Made it super clear when I was confused about all the marriage rules!

This gets complicated quick, but I'll try to explain the rules clearly. To claim someone as a dependent who isn't your child, they need to meet several tests for a "qualifying relative": 1. They must have lived with you all year as a member of your household 2. Their gross income must be less than $5,000 (this amount adjusts yearly) 3. You must provide more than half of their total support 4. They cannot be claimed by someone else 5. They cannot file a joint return with someone else The big issue here is that your girlfriend is still legally married. Even though she's separated, if she files a joint return with her legal husband, you absolutely cannot claim her. And her income of $11,000 is over the limit for qualifying relative anyway. As for your Head of Household status, that's fine if you have your son living with you and you provide more than half his support. That part is separate from claiming your girlfriend.

I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai when I was totally confused about dependent claims. I was supporting my brother who was going through a messy divorce and wasn't sure if I could claim him. I uploaded all my documents to https://taxr.ai and their system analyzed everything. It basically showed me exactly which tests my situation passed and failed for claiming a dependent. The tool actually walked me through each requirement for claiming someone who's still legally married to someone else. Saved me from making a huge mistake that probably would have triggered an audit. They showed me alternatives that actually saved me more money than trying to claim him would have.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai for my situation with my brother living with me (who's still married to someone abroad). It analyzed my documents and confirmed I could claim him as a dependent! The system flagged exactly what I needed to document (showing I paid more than half his expenses) and explained why his married status didn't disqualify him since they file separately. It even pointed out some deductions related to my home office that I was missing. Super helpful and way more specific than the generic advice I was finding online. I was confused about so many technicalities but now I feel confident I'm filing correctly!

If you're having trouble getting a straight answer from the IRS about your girlfriend's dependency status, try https://claimyr.com - they got me through to an actual IRS agent in less than 20 minutes when I was dealing with a similar dependent question. I had been trying for WEEKS to get someone on the phone myself. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was trying to claim my uncle who lives with me but was getting conflicting advice from different tax sites. The IRS agent I spoke to through Claimyr cleared everything up and confirmed exactly what documentation I needed to keep. Beats waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected!

I need to apologize and eat my words. I was super skeptical about Claimyr but I was desperate after trying to reach the IRS for THREE DAYS about my dependent situation with no luck. I tried the service this morning, and I'm shocked - they actually got me through to an IRS representative in about 17 minutes. I didn't have to sit on hold or deal with the phone tree at all. They called me when they had an agent on the line. The agent confirmed that I CAN claim my partner as a dependent despite the complicated marital situation, as long as they're filing separately from their spouse and I provide more than half their support. Literally saved me hours of frustration and now I have a definitive answer from the IRS itself.

Just wanted to follow up here. I decided to try taxr.ai for my situation with my mom splitting time between me and my sister. Honestly, it cleared everything up! The system showed me that neither of us could claim her as a dependent because her social security income was too high, but it did show me that I qualified for some medical expense deductions I didn't know about since I paid for her hospital stay. The analysis showed exactly which tests we failed on and saved us from a potential audit situation. It even recommended a way for my sister and I to alternate years if mom's income changes. Definitely worth checking out if your situation is complicated like the original poster's girlfriend situation.

OP - I had a similar issue trying to claim my fiancée who was going through a divorce. After hours of waiting on hold with the IRS and getting disconnected three times, I found Claimyr. You can call the IRS directly through https://claimyr.com and skip the whole wait time nightmare. Check out how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was able to get straight through to an actual IRS agent who explained exactly how the rules work for dependent claims with someone who is separated but not divorced. They walked me through the specific form I needed and what documentation to keep in case of an audit. Saved me hours of frustration and probably prevented me from making an expensive mistake on my taxes.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - even if you can claim her as a dependent, be careful about trying to file as Head of Household. That status requires you to have a qualifying CHILD dependent, not just any dependent. A girlfriend would only make you eligible for a dependent exemption, not HOH filing status.

I need to eat my words here. After my skeptical comment yesterday, I was desperate enough to try Claimyr for my refund issue. Got connected to an IRS agent in about 45 minutes which is INSANE considering I've been trying for literally months. The agent was able to tell me my refund was held up because of a mismatch with my address (I moved last year) and they fixed it right there on the phone. Should have my money next week! Wish I'd known about this service months ago instead of checking "Where's My Refund" a million times a day and getting nowhere. For the original poster - if you decide to claim your girlfriend, definitely call the IRS first and get their take on your specific situation. The rules around this stuff are super complicated and it's worth getting an official answer.

Not to complicate things, but your girlfriend really should get legally divorced if she's been separated for 3 years. It would make all of this much simpler, plus there are other legal implications beyond taxes to consider.

Have you considered filing as head of household and just taking the standard deduction? That's better than filing single, and since you have your son, you qualify regardless of your girlfriend situation. The increased standard deduction might offset what you'd get from trying to claim her anyway. Plus no risk of audit!

As someone who works as a tax preparer, PLEASE DO NOT try to claim your girlfriend. Her income is too high anyway, but more importantly, attempting to claim someone who's legally married to someone else is a huge red flag. I've seen the IRS come after people for less. Just file Head of Household with your son as your dependent, take the child tax credit if he qualifies, and leave your girlfriend's tax situation separate.

I'm going through a similar situation with my partner who's been separated for years but not legally divorced. After reading through all these responses, it sounds like your girlfriend's income of $11,000 would disqualify her anyway since the limit for qualifying relatives is around $5,000. Even if her income was lower, the marriage complication makes this risky. I'd definitely recommend following the advice about just filing Head of Household with your son - that's already a significant tax advantage compared to filing single, and you'll get the child tax credit too. If you really want a definitive answer about your specific situation, it might be worth using one of those services mentioned to get through to an actual IRS agent. But honestly, it sounds like the safest and most beneficial approach is to keep things simple and just claim your son while filing HOH. The tax savings from that status change alone should be substantial.