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 Charitable Giving and Your Taxes Written by Jim Wang More from Jim Wang 23 responses to “Can I Claim My Girlfriend or Boyfriend as a Dependent?” 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???? Reply Can I claim my girlfriend even though she only made $4,900. we also have a daughter. I need to know if we can file taxes together. Reply Hi John, Unfortunately your girlfriend could not make more than $4,050 for 2016 in order to claim her. You may be able to claim your daughter as long as she didn’t provide over half of her own support, must live with you more than half the year, and no one else can claim her. TurboTax will ask you simple questions about your dependents and give you the tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I need help. My husband and I have a 26 year old nephew that we support 100% can we claim him? Reply Hi my boyfriend owes back taxes and has not had a job in 3 years due to a serious medical condition.If I claim him as a dependent on my taxes can they take part of my return to satisfy his tax debt? Thanks so much !!! Besides this he “passes” the test for the deduction. Reply How about if we are non registered domestic partner, can we file our income taxes jointly? Reply My boyfriend has lived with me for over 3 + years and hasn’t worked in quite some time. Would I be able to claim him as a dependent? Reply I had a job from Dec 02 2025 and they let me go Jan 7 2016. This is my first job and first time worrying about taxes. Can my boyfriend put me as a dependent even though I had a job? And if he is able to, do I still need to do taxes? Sorry, I’m new to this. Reply Hi Darlene, Your boyfriend may be able to claim you if: – You lived with him the entire year – You did not earn more than $4,000 – You did not provide over half of your own support. If these tests are met then your boyfriend may be able to claim you. You will need to file your taxes if you made over $10,300, but if he does claim you, you will not be able to take the dependent exemption. TurboTax will walk you through filing your taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply Hi my boyfriend and I live together and he “passes” the test for me to claim him as a dependent, but because of a serious injury he has not worked in 3 years and has an outstanding tax debt ( less than 10k ) if I claim him as a dependent can the IRS garnish my tax return to satisfy his debt? Thank you so much!! No because 2025 hasn’t happened yet Reply My son works a part time job and wants to file his own taxes this year (hes 18 years old) can I still claim him as I provided more than half of his support. If not, how do I claim his wages? Reply Hi, You would not be able to claim him if he files and takes his personal exemption of $4,000. If he doesn’t take his personal exemption and files his taxes you can still claim him as a dependent. You would just need to confirm whether or not you are going to claim him, because only one of you can take the exemption. Once you decide, TurboTax will help you get the deductions and credits you are eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply I would like to point out how hard it is to do this. I have been a stay at home mom to our youngest son since he was born three years ago. The first year I didn’t have income to claim we tried claiming me as a dependent since we have been living together for years and at that point he was supporting me. Instead we got auditted. It was a mess. They even tried to say he didn’t have the right to claim our kids. They said we had to prove he supported us that year by providing grocery reciepts, rent receits, and medical statements. It took us over a year to get those returns and he still couldn’t claim me because I didn’t have any of those things. It took appealing three times just to be able to claim the kids. So despite the fact that I am his dependent we will never do that again. Reply If the girlfriends only income is social security which isn’t taxable then can they be claimed as a dependent Reply Social security income IS taxable. You’d better check it out before deciding that it’s not, and before deciding what to do. Reply If your boyfriend or girlfriend meets these requirements and you can claim them as a dependent, then can you claim head of household? Reply Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Crypto Understanding Crypto and Capital Gains Work 7 Things You Need to Know About the New Business Report… Work Using Form 8829 to Write-Off Business Use of Your Home Tax Tips Roth 403(b) vs. Roth IRA: Which Should You Invest In? Life Interest Rates, Inflation, and Your Taxes Investments Essential Tax Tips for Maximizing Investment Gains Uncategorized TurboTax is Partnering with Saweetie to Elevate Hoop Dr… Business Small Business Owners: Optimize Your Taxes with a Mid-Y… Small Business The Benefits of Employing Your Children and the Tax Bre… Income and Investments Are Olympics Winnings Taxed?
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
Can I claim my girlfriend even though she only made $4,900. we also have a daughter. I need to know if we can file taxes together. Reply
Hi John, Unfortunately your girlfriend could not make more than $4,050 for 2016 in order to claim her. You may be able to claim your daughter as long as she didn’t provide over half of her own support, must live with you more than half the year, and no one else can claim her. TurboTax will ask you simple questions about your dependents and give you the tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Hi my boyfriend owes back taxes and has not had a job in 3 years due to a serious medical condition.If I claim him as a dependent on my taxes can they take part of my return to satisfy his tax debt? Thanks so much !!! Besides this he “passes” the test for the deduction. Reply
My boyfriend has lived with me for over 3 + years and hasn’t worked in quite some time. Would I be able to claim him as a dependent? Reply
I had a job from Dec 02 2025 and they let me go Jan 7 2016. This is my first job and first time worrying about taxes. Can my boyfriend put me as a dependent even though I had a job? And if he is able to, do I still need to do taxes? Sorry, I’m new to this. Reply
Hi Darlene, Your boyfriend may be able to claim you if: – You lived with him the entire year – You did not earn more than $4,000 – You did not provide over half of your own support. If these tests are met then your boyfriend may be able to claim you. You will need to file your taxes if you made over $10,300, but if he does claim you, you will not be able to take the dependent exemption. TurboTax will walk you through filing your taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
Hi my boyfriend and I live together and he “passes” the test for me to claim him as a dependent, but because of a serious injury he has not worked in 3 years and has an outstanding tax debt ( less than 10k ) if I claim him as a dependent can the IRS garnish my tax return to satisfy his debt? Thank you so much!!
My son works a part time job and wants to file his own taxes this year (hes 18 years old) can I still claim him as I provided more than half of his support. If not, how do I claim his wages? Reply
Hi, You would not be able to claim him if he files and takes his personal exemption of $4,000. If he doesn’t take his personal exemption and files his taxes you can still claim him as a dependent. You would just need to confirm whether or not you are going to claim him, because only one of you can take the exemption. Once you decide, TurboTax will help you get the deductions and credits you are eligible for. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Reply
I would like to point out how hard it is to do this. I have been a stay at home mom to our youngest son since he was born three years ago. The first year I didn’t have income to claim we tried claiming me as a dependent since we have been living together for years and at that point he was supporting me. Instead we got auditted. It was a mess. They even tried to say he didn’t have the right to claim our kids. They said we had to prove he supported us that year by providing grocery reciepts, rent receits, and medical statements. It took us over a year to get those returns and he still couldn’t claim me because I didn’t have any of those things. It took appealing three times just to be able to claim the kids. So despite the fact that I am his dependent we will never do that again. Reply
If the girlfriends only income is social security which isn’t taxable then can they be claimed as a dependent Reply
Social security income IS taxable. You’d better check it out before deciding that it’s not, and before deciding what to do. Reply
If your boyfriend or girlfriend meets these requirements and you can claim them as a dependent, then can you claim head of household? Reply