Can my dad legally claim me as dependent when I'm in a domestic partnership?

Your dad cannot legally claim you as a dependent for a couple of important reasons. First, to claim someone as a qualifying child, they must have lived with the taxpayer for more than half the year - and you mentioned you haven't lived with him at all. This alone disqualifies him. Second, being in a registered domestic partnership is significant. While the IRS doesn't recognize domestic partnerships the same way as marriages federally, your registered domestic partnership creates a household with your boyfriend where you're supporting your children together. This further establishes that you're not your father's dependent. If you need to give your dad a clear reason without causing a fight, focus on the residency requirement. Tell him the IRS requires that dependents must live with the person claiming them for at least 6 months of the year, and since you haven't lived with him at all, he simply can't claim you - regardless of his wishes or your income situation.

After struggling with a similar dependent situation last year with my sister (we had different circumstances but also complicated), I discovered an amazing tool that actually analyzes your specific situation and gives you definitive answers based on real tax code. It's at https://taxr.ai and saved me tons of headache. You just answer some questions about your living situation, relationship status, income, etc. and it will tell you exactly who can legally claim you according to current IRS rules. It specifically addresses special situations like domestic partnerships too! In my case, it confirmed that my brother-in-law couldn't claim my sister even though he was paying her tuition, and gave us the exact tax code references to show him why. Really helpful for complicated family situations.

Just wanted to update that I tried the taxr.ai site that was mentioned and it was super helpful! I had a somewhat similar situation (though I'm not in a domestic partnership) where my aunt wanted to claim me but I was living with my grandma. The tool asked specific questions about my living arrangements, how long I lived where, who provided what percentage of support, and even asked about my registered status. It confirmed what people said here - that the residency test is a hard requirement and gave me the exact IRS publication references to show my aunt. What really helped was having something official-looking to show her that wasn't just "some person online said so." Domestic partnerships definitely create a separate household situation that would prevent your dad from claiming you!

I had a huge problem with my dad trying to claim me too even though I'd moved out. After weeks of getting nowhere with him, I tried calling the IRS directly for a definitive answer, but kept getting stuck on hold for HOURS. Eventually I found this service called Claimyr at https://claimyr.com that actually got me connected to a real IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the 3+ hour wait I was dealing with before. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed exactly what others are saying here - since you don't live with your dad and you're in a registered domestic partnership, there's absolutely no way he can legally claim you. Having that official word directly from the IRS helped me shut down the argument with my dad immediately.

Ok I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After dealing with another tax issue this week, I got desperate and tried that Claimyr service. I was SUPER skeptical but it actually worked exactly as described. Got a call back about 20 minutes after signing up, and they connected me to a real IRS representative who confirmed she was with the IRS and had my tax records. She was able to look up my specific situation and give me binding answers about my filing status questions. For what it's worth, she also confirmed what everyone here is saying - being in a registered domestic partnership would definitely prevent someone's parent from claiming them as a dependent. The IRS views that as establishing your own household, plus the residency test is non-negotiable for qualifying child status.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - if your dad DOES claim you incorrectly, and you file your own tax return (or your boyfriend claims you as a dependent if that's the correct thing to do), the IRS will flag the discrepancy automatically. Both parties will get letters asking for clarification. This happened with my stepdad and mom during their divorce when both tried to claim my sister. If your dad is claiming you fraudulently, he's the one who will be penalized, not you. Just make sure you file correctly according to your actual situation (which sounds like either filing independently or possibly being claimed by your boyfriend if you qualify as his dependent). The IRS system will catch the duplicate claim.

INFO: Are you and your boyfriend financially supporting yourselves and your children together, or is your dad providing significant financial support to you? Also, how old are you? The rules are different depending on whether you're over 19 (or 24 if you're a student).

Based on everything you've shared, your dad has absolutely no legal basis to claim you as a dependent. The IRS has very clear rules for this: For a "qualifying child" dependent, you must live with the person claiming you for MORE THAN HALF THE YEAR. Since you haven't lived with your dad at all in the past year, this requirement fails completely. For a "qualifying relative" dependent, the person must provide MORE THAN HALF of your total support. Your dad paying $600/year for car insurance and $50/month for your phone ($1,200 total annually) is nowhere near half of what it costs to support you, your boyfriend, and two children. Your registered domestic partnership establishes that you're part of a separate household unit. You're functioning as a family with your boyfriend and children - this is completely different from being financially dependent on a parent. Tell your dad straight up: "The IRS requires dependents to live with the person claiming them for at least 6 months of the year. Since I haven't lived with you at all, you legally cannot claim me. Period." Don't let him argue with tax law - these aren't opinions, they're federal requirements. If he tries to claim you anyway, the IRS will catch it when returns are processed and he'll face penalties for fraudulent claiming. Protect yourself by filing your own return correctly.