Can my boyfriend claim my daughter as a dependent on his taxes since he's the main provider?

So wait, since they aren't married, doesn't that mean he's not a relative? I thought only relatives could claim dependents? And wouldn't she have to sign some form agreeing to let him claim her daughter?

The IRS doesn't require someone to be biologically related to claim a child as a dependent. For a "qualifying child," the child must have a specific relationship with the taxpayer (child, sibling, niece, etc.) OR be placed with the taxpayer by an authorized agency. However, your boyfriend might still qualify to claim your daughter as a "qualifying relative" if he meets all the tests, including providing over half her support and her having lived with him all year. No specific form is required for you to "agree" not to claim her, but you simply wouldn't claim her on your own return. That said, having some written documentation between you two could be helpful if there's ever a question from the IRS.

Does this tool work for more complicated situations? My girlfriend has 2 kids from different relationships, and we live together with her mom who also works. Total mess trying to figure out who should claim who.

I've seen these tax tools advertised before. How accurate is it? I'm always skeptical that these things actually understand the real tax code correctly, especially for unusual situations.

The tool definitely handles complicated household situations - that's actually where it's most helpful. It can analyze multiple people's income, living situations, and relationships to determine optimal claiming strategies. You'd just input everyone's information and it maps out the best approach. As for accuracy, I was initially skeptical too but it directly references the specific IRS rules and publications that apply to your situation. Everything it recommended was verified when we filed our taxes. The recommendations actually matched what our accountant suggested, but we saved the $300 consultation fee by using this instead.

How does this service even work? Like, they just call the IRS for you? Couldn't you just call yourself and save money?

This sounds like a total scam. Nobody can "skip the line" with the IRS. They have one phone system and everyone waits. I've been calling for 3 weeks trying to sort out dependent issues with my stepkids.

They don't exactly "call for you" - what they do is stay on hold with the IRS in your place using their automated system. When they reach an agent, they connect you directly. It's like having someone wait in line at the DMV for you and then texting when it's your turn. You absolutely can call yourself if you have hours to wait on hold. Most people don't - I tried calling myself three different times and gave up after 45+ minutes each time. This just eliminates that wait time. Not a scam at all. Their system monitors the hold music and automated messages, and they've developed an algorithm to navigate the phone tree optimally. I was skeptical too, but the IRS has even acknowledged these types of services exist in news articles. When I used it, I got connected in 17 minutes when the estimated wait time on the IRS line was over 2 hours.

But doesn't head of household require you to be related to the dependent? I thought boyfriend/girlfriend can't claim HOH for their partner's kids?

You don't actually need to be related to the dependent to file as Head of Household. You just need to have a qualifying person living with you (like a dependent child), pay more than half the cost of keeping up the home, and be considered unmarried for tax purposes. As long as the boyfriend can legitimately claim the daughter as a dependent (meets all the IRS tests we've discussed), and he pays more than half of the household expenses, he can file as HOH. This is specifically addressed in IRS Publication 501. The key is that the dependent has to live with him, which seems to be the case here.

This is a really good point! With that income level, the EITC could be substantial. It might be worth running the numbers both ways.

Thank you for bringing this up! I hadn't even thought about the Earned Income Credit. I'll definitely look into how much that could be worth for me at my income level before we decide who claims her. I really appreciate everyone's helpful advice here. It sounds like we have options and just need to figure out which approach saves us the most money overall. It's such a relief to know that him claiming her is even possible if that turns out to be the better choice.