Tax Deductions and Credits Can I Claim My Girlfriend or Boyfriend as a Dependent? Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Jim Wang Published Jun 6, 2024 2 min read Reviewed by Jotika Teli, CPA Lena Hanna, CPA Under tax reform, you can no longer claim a dependent exemption, but you still need to know who qualifies as your dependent for other tax benefits like the Other Dependent Credit worth up to $500 for those who are over 17 years old. Are you living with your girlfriend or boyfriend? A boyfriend or girlfriend can be claimed as a dependent if they pass some of the same tests used to determine if your child or relative can be claimed as a dependent. First, your significant other cannot be claimed as a dependent if they are eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another tax return. Whether your boyfriend or girlfriend is actually being claimed is irrelevant, it’s the eligibility that matters. Once you see the rules, especially the residency and support rules, this will make perfect sense. If your significant other’s parents could claim him or her, then you cannot. Your significant other also must be a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. If he or she passes those rules, these four “tests” will also need to be passed to qualify as a dependent. He or she: Is not a “qualifying child” of another taxpayer. The IRS has specific qualifying child rules based on relationship, age, residency, and joint return Earned less than $5,050 in taxable income in 2024 You must provide more than half of their total support for the year Lived with you all year as a member of your household (keep in mind: dependent relatives do not have to live with you) As you can see, the tests make it impossible for someone to be claimed as a dependent on two returns. Either you provided their support, or someone else did. If you and your significant other are living together and considering this route, there are also other ways you can save a lot of money by integrating your finances, without getting married. For example, you could combine auto insurance policies for a multi-car discount. It could result in big savings over the course of a year! Don’t worry about knowing these tax rules. No matter what moves you made last year, TurboTax will make them count on your taxes. Whether you want to do your taxes yourself or have a TurboTax expert file for you, we’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve and your biggest possible refund – guaranteed. Get started Previous Post Do I Need a Social Security Number to File My… Next Post Donating to Charity & Taxes: An Intro Guide Written by Jim Wang More from Jim Wang 23 responses to “Can I Claim My Girlfriend or Boyfriend as a Dependent?” « Older Comments Hi can I claim my boyfriend or friend if he is on ssi? Reply Hello Bre, The requirements for claiming someone other than a relative as a Dependent and get the new “Other Dependent Credit” are: You may qualify to claim others as a dependent if: 1. You provide more than half of the total support for the year. Support from you includes food, housing, medical expenses, clothing and other essentials. 2. The person you are claiming does not have income that exceeds $4,150 for 2018; that amount does not include any Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits they are receiving. 3. To claim a parent or anyone as a dependent, they must not be eligible or claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return. 4. The qualifying dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. Finally, the relationship between you and the dependent can not violate the law. For example, your dependent cannot still be married to someone else and you claim them. Make sure to check your individual state law, as some states do not allow you to claim a boyfriend or girlfriend as a dependent even if your relationship doesn’t violate the law. Thank you Reply Can I amend previous returns if my boyfriend qualifies as a dependent even though the law has changed for this year? Reply If my girlfriend is in college can I claim her on my taxes? Reply I have tried to get an answer to a tax question from Turbo tax for 2 weeks now and I have yet to receive a response. I have been a Turbo tax user for 8 years but you can consider me a disgruntled former customer now!. Reply Hi can I claim my girlfriend if she is older than me and on ssi Reply I was wondering if I can claim her as a dependent. She has not worked for a couple years now. I pay for all her expenses. Clothes, Food, Shelter, etc…. you name it. we moved in together right before she started going together. I also pay for her school too. Books, school lunch, etc. financial aid doesn’t cover everything her tuition is almost double since she is an out of state student. but we now live together after a year her tuition should go down. but she does not work and like I said I take care of all her financial expense. she will be turning 21 in January of 2019. we’ve been together for 3 years now. I just need to know I can claim her???? 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Hello Bre, The requirements for claiming someone other than a relative as a Dependent and get the new “Other Dependent Credit” are: You may qualify to claim others as a dependent if: 1. You provide more than half of the total support for the year. Support from you includes food, housing, medical expenses, clothing and other essentials. 2. The person you are claiming does not have income that exceeds $4,150 for 2018; that amount does not include any Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits they are receiving. 3. To claim a parent or anyone as a dependent, they must not be eligible or claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return. 4. The qualifying dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. Finally, the relationship between you and the dependent can not violate the law. For example, your dependent cannot still be married to someone else and you claim them. Make sure to check your individual state law, as some states do not allow you to claim a boyfriend or girlfriend as a dependent even if your relationship doesn’t violate the law. Thank you Reply
Can I amend previous returns if my boyfriend qualifies as a dependent even though the law has changed for this year? Reply
I have tried to get an answer to a tax question from Turbo tax for 2 weeks now and I have yet to receive a response. I have been a Turbo tax user for 8 years but you can consider me a disgruntled former customer now!. Reply
I was wondering if I can claim her as a dependent. She has not worked for a couple years now. I pay for all her expenses. Clothes, Food, Shelter, etc…. you name it. we moved in together right before she started going together. I also pay for her school too. Books, school lunch, etc. financial aid doesn’t cover everything her tuition is almost double since she is an out of state student. but we now live together after a year her tuition should go down. but she does not work and like I said I take care of all her financial expense. she will be turning 21 in January of 2019. we’ve been together for 3 years now. I just need to know I can claim her???? Reply