does anyone know if my fience of 5yrs whos been living with me for 4yrs can claim my son on his taxes ?

Question

i know my sons father is not and my fiance made more money then me and takes care of my son?? how would the irs know hes not a relative??? please help!!!

Answer 1

Judy does an awesome job answering tax questions. Give her answers more credence than other people. However, she is off by a little bit.

She said, "If you and your son lived with your fiancée all year, and your fiancée provided over half of his support, and he's not claimed by anyone else, and your son didn't earn over $3300 for the year, then your fiancée can claim him."

In addition, you, too, must have lived with your fiancée all year, he must have provided more than 1/2 of your support, and you must have earned less than $3,300 for the year. Why? Because you must be considered someone else's dependent if your child is not to be considered your Qualifying Child. If you can not be anyone's dependent, and if you lived with your son for over 1/2 of the year, then your son is your Qualifying Child which makes him ineligible to be anyone's Qualifying Relative. If you earned $3,301 or more (which I'm thinking happened), then you son is your Qualifying Child and can NOT be claimed as a Qualifying Relative by your fiancée or anyone else.

Answer 2

If you and your son lived with your fiance all year, and your fiance provided over half of his support, and he's not claimed by anyone else, and your son didn't earn over $3300 for the year, then your fiance can claim him. The IRS doesn't care if he's an actual relative - that's not required. The terminology they use is "qualifying relative" but that doesn't require relationship by blood or marriage. Download Publication 17 (see chapter 3) or the instructions for 1040, and you'll see this information.

This question usually draws a number of wrong answers, so check it out with IRS instructions if you get varying answers.

Your fiance would not be qualified to file as head of household though, even if he claims your son as a dependent. That DOES require that the person be an actual relative, from a specific list - for example, a cousin would not qualify.