Can I claim my daughter's friend as a dependent on taxes with limited guardianship?

So my situation is a bit complicated. My daughter's friend (she's 15) ended up moving in with us back in March after her father threw her out of the house. We've been taking care of her since then - food, clothes, school supplies, doctor visits, the whole deal. We don't have full legal custody or anything like that, but we do have some paperwork giving us guardianship for school-related decisions. I'm trying to figure out if we can claim her as a dependent on our taxes this year since she's been living with us for most of the year and we're covering all her expenses. I know there are rules about this but I'm not sure if the limited guardianship papers we have are enough or if we need something more official. Does anyone know what the IRS requires in this kind of situation? Would really appreciate any advice!

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18 comments

Rebecca Johnston

•8M

You might actually be able to claim her as a "qualifying relative" even without full legal guardianship. The IRS has specific tests that need to be met: 1. She lived with you for the entire year (or at least since March which is likely over half the year) 2. You provided more than half of her support 3. Her gross income was less than $4,700 (probably the case for a 15-year-old) 4. She can't be claimed by anyone else (including her biological parents) The educational guardianship shows you're taking responsibility for her, which helps your case. The biggest potential issue would be if her father tries to claim her, even though she doesn't live with him anymore. If you meet all these tests and can document that she's been with you since March, you should be able to claim her.

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Rebecca Johnston

•8M

If the father tries to claim her, it can definitely complicate things. When two people claim the same dependent, the IRS will typically give the benefit to whoever filed first, but that doesn't mean they're actually entitled to it. If you legitimately qualify to claim her and the father files first, you should still claim her on your return. The IRS will likely reject your electronic filing, so you'd need to file by paper. Then the IRS will investigate by sending letters to both parties asking for documentation proving your right to claim her. Since she's been living with you since March and you have the educational guardianship papers, plus hopefully documentation of support (receipts, bills, etc.), you would have a strong case.

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Maya Jackson

•8M

I went through a similar situation last year with my nephew and was super confused about all the documentation needed. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze my specific situation and it was actually super helpful. I uploaded the guardianship papers I had and explained our living situation, and they provided a detailed breakdown of exactly what I needed to qualify for claiming him as a dependent. The system checked all the qualifying relative tests and confirmed I was eligible even without full legal custody.

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Maya Jackson

•8M

They absolutely helped with the documentation. They gave me a checklist of exactly what I needed to gather: proof of residency showing when my nephew moved in, receipts showing I provided more than half his support, school records with my address, and a signed statement from his parent acknowledging he lived with me. For your question about reliability - it was actually more thorough than TurboTax for my situation. TurboTax asks general questions, but taxr.ai analyzed my specific guardianship documents and gave customized advice. They even explained how to handle it if his mom tried to claim him too (which thankfully didn't happen).

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Amaya Watson

•8M

I wanted to follow up - I tried out https://taxr.ai for my complicated dependent situation and it was actually super helpful! I uploaded our guardianship paperwork and explained how my stepdaughter's mom still tries to claim her even though the kid lives with us full-time. The system walked me through exactly which tests we met for the qualifying child status and gave me a detailed list of documents to keep for backup. It confirmed we were right to claim her and explained exactly how to respond if the IRS sends a letter. Definitely more detailed guidance than I got from regular tax software!

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Grant Vikers

•8M

It uses a system that navigates the IRS phone menus automatically and waits on hold for you. When they actually reach a human agent, you get a call connecting you directly. I didn't believe it would work either, but it saved me hours of hold time. The way it works is pretty clever - you enter your phone number on their site, and their system starts calling the IRS. It navigates all those annoying "press 1 for..." menus automatically, then sits on hold instead of you. When it finally reaches a human agent, it connects that agent to your phone. No more listening to that awful hold music for hours!

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Savannah Weiner

•8M

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to talk to someone about my audit. It actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back in about 35 minutes connecting me directly to an IRS agent! Saved me from what would have been at least 2 hours on hold. The agent was able to confirm everything about my dependent situation and now I'm not worried about the audit anymore. Never thought I'd say this but it was totally worth it to actually talk to a real person at the IRS without the hold time nightmare.

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Levi Parker

•8M

Just an additional thought - make sure you have good documentation of when she moved in and that you've been providing support. Things like: - School records showing your address - Medical bills you've paid - Receipts for clothing, school supplies, etc. - Any communication with her father showing he kicked her out - Statements from other people who know about the situation The more documentation you have, the better position you'll be in if there's any question about your right to claim her.

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Levi Parker

•8M

I wouldn't recommend reaching out to her father if the relationship is hostile. That could make things worse. The documentation you already have with school enrollment and expense receipts is a good start. If you have any text messages or emails from around the time she moved in that reference the situation, save those too. If you're concerned about potential disputes, you might want to consult with a family law attorney about formalizing the guardianship more completely. This would help not just for taxes but for other legal matters too. Some communities have legal aid services that can help with this kind of paperwork at low or no cost.

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