Can My Fiancé Claim My Kids on Taxes if I Have No Income to File?

This is actually a more nuanced situation than it might initially appear. The IRS has specific qualifying child requirements that must be met for dependency claims. The relationship test allows a step-parent to claim a child, but only if legally married to the biological parent. Since you're engaged but not yet married, your fiancé is technically considered unrelated to the children under IRS Publication 501 guidelines. The residency test requires the child to have lived with the claiming taxpayer for more than half the year, which appears to be satisfied in your situation. However, the relationship status presents a significant obstacle.

I'm going to lay this out step-by-step because there's actually a potential solution here: 1. First, even with no income, YOU should still consider filing a tax return. There's no minimum income requirement to file. 2. As the biological parent with full custody, you have priority claim to the children as dependents. 3. You can then complete Form 8332 (Release/Revocation of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent). 4. This form allows you to transfer the right to claim the children to someone else. However, and this is important, Form 8332 can only transfer this right to the OTHER BIOLOGICAL PARENT, not your fiancé. The IRS doesn't have a mechanism to transfer dependent claims to non-parents unless they qualify as a relative who provided care.

There's actually a workaround that might help your situation! Since you have minimal income, you could still file your own return and claim the kids yourself. Then, your fiancé could claim you ALL as dependents if he provides more than 50% of the household support. 😂 It sounds weird to be claimed as a dependent by your fiancé, I know, but the tax benefit would flow to your household either way. This approach requires: - You must have less than $4,700 in gross income for 2023 - You must have lived together all year - Your fiancé must provide more than half of your financial support This might actually result in a better tax situation overall than trying to have him claim just the kids.

I'd be really careful with this situation. I went through something similar and ended up with a notice from the IRS questioning my dependent claims. It took me months to get someone on the phone to resolve it... I kept calling the regular IRS number and getting nowhere. Finally used Claimyr (https://www.claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent who explained exactly what documentation I needed to provide. Might be worth using their service to speak with an IRS rep about your specific situation before filing, just to make sure you're doing everything correctly. Tax issues with dependents can get messy quickly...

OMG I dealt with EXACTLY this situation last year! What we ended up doing was having ME (the bio mom) file my own return with minimal income and claim the kids. Even with almost no income, I qualified for refundable credits like the Child Tax Credit which gave me a nice refund! My boyfriend (not even fiancé yet) couldn't claim them directly, but the money came back to our household anyway. I was SO RELIEVED when we figured this out because we thought we were going to lose thousands in tax benefits!

According to Internal Revenue Code §152(c) and §152(e), the qualifying child rules are quite specific in this scenario. As the custodial parent with full physical custody, you maintain primary claim rights to the children as dependents regardless of income level. Per Treasury Regulation §1.152-4, the non-custodial parent may only claim the children if the custodial parent signs Form 8332, and this provision does not extend to non-parent individuals, even those providing support. Publication 501 further clarifies that step-parent status only applies after legal marriage. I'm particularly impressed by some of the creative solutions others have suggested regarding household support tests.

I was in a similar spot a few years ago! What worked for me was filing my own return with zero income and claiming my kids. Even with no income, I got back around $5,000 from refundable credits like the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Credit. My boyfriend at the time (now husband) couldn't claim my kids, but it didn't matter because the money came to our household anyway. The IRS doesn't care who in the household gets the refund as long as the right person claims the kids. Just make sure you file before anyone else tries to claim them!

Looking at the 2023 tax year provisions, you should be aware that the Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,000 per qualifying child under 17, with up to $1,600 being refundable (as the Additional Child Tax Credit). Even with zero income, you can receive this refundable portion. The filing deadline this year is April 15, 2024, so you still have time to file and claim these credits yourself. Your fiancé cannot claim the children unless you're legally married, as the IRS defines a step-parent relationship only through legal marriage. The biological parent with custody (you) has priority claim rights regardless of who provides financial support.