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

Does it matter that OP is paying rent for both of them? Couldn't that count as providing more than half of roommate's support if the roommate isn't working?

Thanks for explaining! I should've been clearer - I actually do pay for all of our rent, utilities, groceries, and his tuition fees. The money transfer arrangement is separate from that. He lives completely on my dime while studying. Does that change anything?

If you're paying the entire rent, utilities, food, and his tuition, that definitely changes things! That would count as providing support for your roommate. In that case, you might meet the support test. Let me clarify the complete requirements again: 1) Your roommate must have lived with you all year (check), 2) Their gross income must be less than $4,700 (if they don't work at all, check), 3) You must provide more than half their total support (if you pay for everything as you just mentioned, check), 4) They can't be claimed by someone else (make sure their parents aren't claiming them). Given this new information, you might qualify to claim them. This could potentially save you a few thousand dollars depending on your tax situation, as you could file as Head of Household and get the dependent exemption.

How does it work with the document thing? Like do actual people review your stuff or is it all automated? I'm always nervous about uploading financial docs online.

I looked at their site but couldn't tell if they handle international situations. My boyfriend is from Brazil and stays with me half the year on a student visa. Would this work for figuring out if I can claim him?

It's all automated using their AI system - no humans review your documents, which made me feel safer about uploading things. The system analyzes everything and gives you a detailed breakdown of how the tax rules apply to your specific situation. For international situations, they absolutely handle those! They have specific sections for visa holders, international students, and mixed residency households. The system is designed to catch those special rules that apply in cross-border situations, which regular tax software often misses. It'll tell you exactly what qualifies and what doesn't for your boyfriend on a student visa.

Seems sketchy. How do they actually get you through faster than just calling yourself? The IRS wait times are what they are.

Is this legit? Sounds like they just autodial the IRS for you. Do they have access to your tax info or know what you're calling about?

They don't get you through faster than the normal queue - what they do is wait in the IRS phone queue FOR you. So instead of you being stuck listening to hold music for hours, their system stays on hold and then calls you when they're about to connect with an agent. It saved me literally hours of being stuck on hold. They don't have any access to your tax information at all. They just make the initial call to the IRS, navigate the phone tree to get to the right department, wait on hold, and then connect you directly when an agent picks up. They don't know or need to know what your specific tax issue is.

Thank you for this advice! We actually have a single lease with both our names on it, and I pay the full amount. I'll start keeping better records of all the expenses. For Form 8332, isn't that for claiming children? Would that apply to a non-related roommate situation?

You're right about Form 8332 - my mistake! That's specifically for releasing a child's exemption between parents. For your situation, you don't need that form. What you DO need is excellent documentation showing you provided more than half of your roommate's total support. Keep receipts for rent, utilities, groceries, tuition payments, everything. The IRS is especially suspicious of non-relative dependent claims, so documentation is crucial. Also, make sure your roommate doesn't file their own return claiming themselves, and that their parents aren't claiming them if they're still technically dependent on them in some way.

That's actually a really good point that I hadn't considered. If the IRS were to view this arrangement as the roommate receiving compensation in exchange for facilitating money transfers to OP's family, they could potentially classify this as a form of barter income. Bartering for services is taxable even when no cash changes hands.