Can I claim my fiance's (or girlfriend's, boyfriend's, partner's) kids as dependents on my tax return?
In general, if you have an unrelated individual such as a fiance (girlfriend, boyfriend, or partner) living with you as a member of your household and the unrelated individual also has children that live with you as members of your household, then you may be able to claim the unrelated children as dependents.
It depends on whether your fiance can be claimed as your dependent, and there may be custody rights for claiming the children as dependents that belong to the other parent. You also need to make sure you know whether the other parent can claim the children as dependents (usually only for the Child Tax Credit if the children lived with you and your fiance for the entire year).
If the unrelated person doesn't have enough income to be required to file a tax return but files an income tax return anyway to get a tax refund of federal tax withheld, you can still claim the children as dependents as long as you meet all the other criteria for claiming them as a dependent. However, if your fiance files a tax return and claims the Earned Income Credit, then you can't claim your fiance's children as dependents on your tax return.
If your fiance is claiming the child on their own tax return or someone else (such as an ex-spouse) is eligible to claim the child as a dependent on their tax return, then you can't claim the child as a dependent on your tax return even if you meet all the other criteria.
IRS Notice 2008-5 has a detailed discussion of this issue. We suggest you read it, as well as the dependent rules listed in the Form 1040 instructions.
It depends on whether your fiance can be claimed as your dependent, and there may be custody rights for claiming the children as dependents that belong to the other parent. You also need to make sure you know whether the other parent can claim the children as dependents (usually only for the Child Tax Credit if the children lived with you and your fiance for the entire year).
If the unrelated person doesn't have enough income to be required to file a tax return but files an income tax return anyway to get a tax refund of federal tax withheld, you can still claim the children as dependents as long as you meet all the other criteria for claiming them as a dependent. However, if your fiance files a tax return and claims the Earned Income Credit, then you can't claim your fiance's children as dependents on your tax return.
If your fiance is claiming the child on their own tax return or someone else (such as an ex-spouse) is eligible to claim the child as a dependent on their tax return, then you can't claim the child as a dependent on your tax return even if you meet all the other criteria.
IRS Notice 2008-5 has a detailed discussion of this issue. We suggest you read it, as well as the dependent rules listed in the Form 1040 instructions.
