Can my domestic partner be my health insurance dependent but not an income tax dependent?

You're on the right track, but there are some important distinctions to understand. For 2025 tax purposes, you're correct that your domestic partner can't be your tax dependent if they earn above the threshold ($5,000 for 2025). This is because they fail the "gross income test" for qualifying relatives. However, for employer health insurance purposes, many employers use different criteria for domestic partners. Your employer is allowing you to add your domestic partner to your health insurance without treating the employer's contribution as imputed income because you provide more than 50% of their support - which is great! What you need to be careful about is that while your portion of the premium may be pre-tax, the IRS typically requires that the value of employer-provided health coverage for domestic partners who are not tax dependents MUST be included as taxable income to you (imputed income). This is where I think you might have a misunderstanding - you should double-check with your benefits department. The fact that you provide more than 50% support doesn't override the income test for tax dependency purposes, but it may satisfy your employer's requirements for health insurance coverage.

After spending hours trying to figure out this exact situation last year, I found a solution with taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). I uploaded my benefits documents and my partner's income info, and it analyzed everything instantly. The site showed me that my employer was incorrectly handling the tax treatment of my domestic partner's health benefits. Like you, I provide most of my partner's support, but she earns about $14K annually. The tool confirmed that while my partner could be on my insurance, my employer should have been reporting the company's contribution as imputed income on my W-2. This saved me from potential tax issues later - I was able to go back to HR with this information and get everything corrected before tax season. The analysis also showed me exactly how much additional tax I would owe so I could budget accordingly.

I was wrong about online tools - I tried taxr.ai after my skeptical comment and I'm actually impressed. My domestic partner situation is slightly different (she's a full-time student with $11K income), but the analysis was spot on. The tool explained that since my partner is a student, different rules apply, but she still couldn't be my tax dependent due to her income. What surprised me was discovering my employer had been incorrectly handling the tax treatment for 2 years! They weren't adding imputed income for her health coverage because they misunderstood the "more than 50% support" rule. I showed the detailed report to our benefits coordinator, who then consulted their tax department. They're now correcting my current W-2 and issuing amended W-2s for previous years. Honestly saved me from what could have been a messy audit situation. Worth every penny for the peace of mind alone.

I faced this exact situation last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS for clarification. After 9 failed attempts and hours on hold, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). I was completely skeptical but desperate. They actually got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes! The agent confirmed exactly what others have said here - domestic partners earning above the threshold cannot be tax dependents regardless of support provided, and employer contributions toward their health insurance must be treated as imputed income to you. The IRS agent also explained that while some employers incorrectly handle this, it's ultimately your responsibility as the taxpayer to ensure the proper amount is included in your taxable income - even if your employer doesn't report it correctly on your W-2.

I need to publicly admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I tried it myself in desperation when dealing with an incorrect CP2000 notice related to - guess what - imputed income for my domestic partner's health insurance. After three weeks of not being able to reach anyone at the IRS, Claimyr connected me to an agent in about 35 minutes. The agent was able to correct the issue on the spot and confirm that I had been handling the domestic partner health insurance taxation correctly all along. The problem was that my employer had reported the imputed income in the wrong box on my W-2, triggering an automated mismatch in the IRS system. Without actually speaking to someone, this would have resulted in a substantial tax bill I didn't actually owe. For anyone dealing with complex domestic partner tax situations - being able to actually speak with the IRS can make all the difference. I'll be keeping this service in my back pocket from now on.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - you should also check your state tax rules! I'm in California, and registered domestic partners are treated differently for state tax purposes than for federal. My partner isn't my dependent for federal taxes because of income, but for California state taxes, registered domestic partners essentially follow the same rules as married couples. This means we file separately for federal but can file jointly for California. It saved us about $900 on state taxes last year. Several other states have similar provisions.

I think everyone is focusing on the tax dependency and missing an important consideration - healthcare pre-tax contributions. Even if your partner isn't your tax dependent, Section 125 cafeteria plans (which most employer health plans use) allow you to pay YOUR portion of the premium with pre-tax dollars even for non-dependent domestic partners. The employer's contribution is still imputed income to you, but your own premium payments can still be pre-tax. This is a small but meaningful benefit that many people overlook.

A warning from someone who got this wrong: Make absolutely sure your employer is adding imputed income correctly. Mine wasn't, and I got a CP2000 notice two years later saying I owed $3,200 in back taxes plus penalties because the value of my partner's health benefits should have been included in my taxable income. Even though it was my employer's mistake in not reporting it properly, the IRS held ME responsible as the taxpayer. They said I should have known the rules and reported the additional income on my return regardless of what my W-2 showed. I ended up having to pay the full amount plus interest. Don't make my mistake - verify everything is being handled correctly now, not when the IRS comes knocking.

This is exactly the kind of complex situation where getting expert guidance upfront can save you major headaches later. Based on what everyone's shared here, it sounds like you have two separate issues to address: 1. **Immediate action needed**: Contact your HR/benefits department with specific questions about imputed income reporting. Ask them directly: "Are you adding the employer's contribution toward my domestic partner's health coverage as imputed income on my W-2?" Don't let them give you a vague answer - this needs to be crystal clear. 2. **Documentation**: Get everything in writing from your benefits department about how they're handling the tax treatment. As Caleb mentioned, if they're doing it wrong, you're still ultimately responsible to the IRS. Your understanding is mostly correct - health insurance "dependents" and tax "dependents" do follow different rules. But the key issue is that employer contributions for non-tax dependents typically must be reported as taxable income to you. Given that your partner earns $15K annually, they definitely can't qualify as your tax dependent regardless of the support you provide. The 2025 threshold is around $5,000, so you're well above that limit. I'd strongly recommend getting this clarified before year-end so any corrections can be made to your current year W-2 rather than dealing with amendments and potential penalties later.