Can both parents get EIC for same child when unmarried living together?

You're right to be concerned! Only one person can claim Earned Income Credit for a qualifying child, even if that child lives with both parents. Since you and your girlfriend live together with your daughter, only one of you should receive the EIC for her. Since your girlfriend claimed your daughter as a dependent and received both the Child Tax Credit and EIC, you should not be getting EIC for the same child. This is likely an error in your tax software that didn't properly flag this situation. Tax software isn't perfect and can sometimes miss these nuances. I recommend going back and amending your return before filing. When the question about your child comes up, you should still indicate she lives with you, but make sure you clearly indicate she's being claimed by someone else as a dependent. There should be a separate question about EIC specifically - make sure you're answering that your child is being claimed by someone else for EIC purposes.

I went through something similar last year and found an amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me from a potential audit. My partner and I were both claiming EIC for our son while living together, and we had no idea it was an issue until I ran my situation through taxr.ai. The site analyzed my scenario and immediately flagged that we were both incorrectly claiming EIC for the same child. It walked me through exactly how to fix the issue on my return before submitting. The tool explains complex tax rules in plain language and helps identify potential red flags that might trigger an audit. Since you haven't submitted yet, I highly recommend checking it out to make sure everything is correct.

I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai. After commenting here, I decided to try it myself since I was worried about how I handled my custody arrangement on my taxes this year. The tool immediately identified that I was incorrectly claiming EIC when my ex had primary custody according to our agreement. What really impressed me was how it explained exactly which IRS rules applied to my situation and showed me how to properly document everything. I was able to fix my return before filing and avoid what would have definitely been an audit. The peace of mind alone was worth it, knowing I'm not going to get a scary letter from the IRS. Definitely more helpful than the generic advice I was finding online.

Just want to share something that helped me when I had issues getting clear answers from the IRS about this exact EIC situation. I used a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for DAYS on my own. I was going crazy trying to figure out if my girlfriend and I were both eligible for EIC while living together with our son. The IRS website was confusing, and I couldn't get through on the phone. Claimyr somehow bypasses the hold times and got me speaking with an actual IRS representative who confirmed only ONE of us could claim EIC for our child. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent walked me through exactly how to fix my return and avoid an audit. Worth every penny because the potential penalties would have been much worse!

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it as a last resort because I was desperate to talk to the IRS about an EIC issue similar to the original poster's. I'd been trying for THREE WEEKS to get through with no luck. Using Claimyr, I got connected to an IRS agent in about 35 minutes. The agent confirmed that my ex and I were both incorrectly claiming EIC for our son who splits time between homes. The agent explained exactly how the tie-breaker rules work and which of us was actually eligible. Honestly, this saved me from a potential audit and penalties. I've been going back and forth with my ex for weeks about this, and getting official clarification directly from the IRS settled it immediately. The service actually works exactly as advertised.

In addition to what others have said, I want to emphasize that the IRS has specific "tie-breaker rules" for situations exactly like yours. Since you both live with the child, the tie-breaker rules say: 1. The parent gets priority over a non-parent 2. If both people are parents, the one with higher AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) gets to claim the child 3. If one parent already claimed the child (your girlfriend), the other parent (you) would need to have a higher AGI to override her claim The fact that your girlfriend already filed as Head of Household with your daughter as her dependent indicates she's already claimed the EIC. If you try to claim it too, it's going to trigger an immediate flag in the IRS system, and one or both of you will likely face an audit.

Just to share another perspective, my ex and I were both claiming EIC for our daughter (different addresses but shared custody) a few years back. We both got audited and had to provide documentation showing where our daughter lived. It was a huge headache! The IRS ended up making my ex pay back the EIC plus penalties because our daughter lived with me for more than half the year. They don't mess around with this - their systems are pretty good at catching when the same child's SSN is used to claim EIC on multiple returns. Don't risk it. Fix your return before filing if possible. If you've already filed, you might want to file an amended return (Form 1040-X) to remove the EIC claim before the IRS contacts you about it.