Your girlfriend (boyfriend) has lived with you the entire year and you have supported her (him) so can you claim her (him) on your income tax return? According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) there are several tests which must be met before an individual can be claimed as a dependent. If your friend passes four qualifications or tests you may claim an exemption thus saving you money on your income taxes. In order to claim someone who is not your blood relative as a dependent, all of the following must be true:
- You must have provided more than 50% of her or his financial support.
- Your girlfriend (boyfriend) must have lived in your home all year.
- Your friend must be a citizen of the United States, or a resident of the U.S., Canada or Mexico
- Your friend must have earned less than $3,950 in 2014
If your girlfriend (boyfriend) meets all of these requirements you may claim your friend as a dependent on your income tax return thus reducing your taxable income by $3,950. Additionally, if all of the tests are met, to properly complete your income tax return you will need your friend’s legal name, date of birth and social security number.
One important fact to remember is that even if your girlfriend (boyfriend) qualifies as your dependent does not mean you may file as Head of Household. According to the IRS for Head of Household purposes she (he) is not your qualifying person as your girlfriend (boyfriend) does not meet the specifications of a relative who does not live you. There are a complete different set of regulations a dependent must meet in order to be a qualifying person for the Head of Household status and unfortunately your friend does not meet the relationship test. Therefore, unless you have another dependent who can be your qualifying person you will have to file as Single for your filing status.
Submitted by Kathryn Shrader
Leave a Reply