Qualifying Child dependent rules: Can my boyfriend claim my child if he supported us?
I attended school full time last year and only worked part time. My boyfriend has been supporting me and my daughter financially all year - paying rent, bills, food etc. Would he be able to claim my daughter as a dependent on his taxes? She lived with us the entire year.
14 comments
Join the conversation
Freya Christensen
Tax professional here. This depends on several factors. The key requirements for your boyfriend to claim your daughter are: 1) She must live with him for more than half the year 2) He must provide more than half of her support 3) She must be under 19 or a full-time student under 24 4) She can't provide more than half of her own support. Even if he meets these, as the biological parent you have first right to claim her unless you release your claim.
0 coins
Ravi Malhotra
AuthorThank you! She's 6 and he definitely provided most of the support. Do I need to fill out any special forms to release my claim?
0 coins
Freya Christensen
Yes, you'll need Form 8332 to release the claim. Make sure you both keep copies for your records.
0 coins
Omar Hassan
Hey guys just wanted to mention I was super confused about dependent situations too until I used taxr.ai - its this new tool that analyzes your transcript and tells you exactly who qualifies as dependents and how to handle complex situations like this. Only $4.99 but saved me way more than that in proper credits https://taxr.ai
0 coins
Chloe Robinson
Is it legit? Sounds too good to be true tbh 🤔
0 coins
Omar Hassan
100% legit! It basically uses AI to read your transcript and explain everything in plain english. Shows you all the credits your eligible for too
0 coins
Chloe Robinson
Just tried it - holy cow where has this been all my life?! 🙌 The amount of stress it saved me was worth wayyy more than 5 bucks
0 coins
Diego Chavez
im in the same boat! my gf's kid lives with us and i pay everything. we learned the hard way last year when both tried to claim him lol
0 coins
NeonNebula
What happened when you both claimed? Did IRS contact you?
0 coins
Diego Chavez
yea got a nasty letter and had to amend. dont make our mistake 😅
0 coins
Anastasia Kozlov
Not a tax pro but pretty sure unmarried partners cant claim each others kids... might wanna double check that
0 coins
Freya Christensen
This is incorrect. Non-relatives can claim if they meet all qualifying child/relative tests and the biological parent releases claim.
0 coins
Sean Kelly
y'all should just get married tbh makes taxes way easier js 💅
0 coins
Brianna Muhammad
Another thing to consider - make sure you understand the difference between a "qualifying child" and "qualifying relative" for tax purposes. Since your daughter is 6 and lived with you both all year, she'd likely be considered a qualifying child if your boyfriend provided more than half her support. But as others mentioned, you as the biological parent have the first right to claim her. The Form 8332 is definitely the way to go if you want to release that claim. Also worth noting that whoever claims her can potentially get the Child Tax Credit too, which could be significant depending on income levels.
0 coins