Can I claim my daughter as a dependant and have my girlfriend claim her for an Earned Income credit?

Question

I am claiming my daughter as a dependant on my taxes this year, and we are wondering if it is possible for my girlfriend to still claim her toward an earned income credit, because she made practically nothing last year. Can anyone help???

Let me rephrase, since everyone seems to think i'm trying to de-fraud the IRS....
The EIC states that a claim will be fraudulent "if someone else can also claim her for an EIC". It does not say "if someone else can claim her as a dependant. I make too much money, and cannot claim her for the EIC. I know other people that have done it (legally, through H&R Block), and was curious how it works.

Let me clarify again............
My girlfriend is indeed the mother of my child.....I'm not a complete idiot.

Answer 1

My daughter is split between her father and myself. So it could be possible under some conditions if the girlfriend is the child’s mother. It is part of the rules for "Divorced or Separated Parents" (this also applied to unmarried parents, like my case). I sign a form (8332) so her father can claim her as a dependant. He claims her for the exemption and the Child Tax Credit. I use her to claim Head of Household, the Child and Dependant Care Credit, and the Earned Income Credit. You would have to research your specific case. I can't say for sure if YOU can do it, but it is done and done legally in some cases.

As far as I know it can ONLY be split that way. One person (in my case the non-custodial parent) taking the exemption and Child Tax Credit and the other parent (custodial parent) taking the rest as a "qualifying child" instead of as a dependant. Again, look into that but I read a LOT of rules on this. Problem is if you took the exemption and gave her the rest then you may not be able to use her to claim Head of Household! In my case he lives in another state and never lived with his child. It might be different if you and the child's mother both lived together.

(Note: You said "my girlfriend" but you never said if she is also the mother of the child. This makes a huge difference.)

EDIT:
READ the .PDF at the link below on pages 15/16 read RULE 9. (My case is at the top of Page 19 under "Applying Rule 9 to divorced or separated parents")
So under these rules you can't split the child unless the parents lived apart for the last 6 months of the year. So the answer is no.

Answer 2

There are certain cases where one parent can claim the dependency and child tax credit and the other can claim the earned income credit - but thats only for parents not living together. Only a custodial parent can claim the EIC, but the non-custodial parent can claim the other (Yes, it can be split up - see the first link below) Only one person in a household can claim head of household. Also - depending on your state and local laws - if you provided more than 50% of your girlfriend's support last year and you lived together - you may be able to claim her as a dependent too (contrary to what was posted above). It's totally dependent upon local laws, some states don't recognize unmarried relationships, but some do. I realize that it is expensive to go to a tax preparer if you are able to do your own taxes, but in this case you have so many hard questions, it may be in your best interest to do that.

Answer 3

Okay, now you understand that these children can probably be claimed as "qualifying relatives" on your tax return. Even without all the extras, just having 3 more dependents on your tax return can be to your advantage. $10,200 more in exemptions. This reduces your income by $10,200. If you had this much in taxable income before, this is worth $1000+ in less tax. No matter who does your amended return, look at it before you send it in. Page 1. The first change you would see is line 4. Eg, Line 4:$3400, $10,200, $13,600. You should *only* see changes on line 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10. If you see changes to lines 2, 7, 13 and 14, your preparer did it wrong. On page 2, the line 28 would show 0,3,3. You would see nothing on line 26 or 27. On line 33, you would see "none" or "other" under relationship. You would NOT see "nephew" "neice" "stepchild" or "foster child." Every valid post on this thread is trying to do you a HUGE favor. I have talked to too many taxpayers who didn't think it would hurt to claim their girlfriend's kids as a stepchild. (After all, they are planning to marry her eventually.) The problem is, legally the child wasn't for the tax year and the IRS *will* audit them. Even if the IRS doesn't catch on at first, they do eventually and it's very painful to pay back $3000 with penalties, interest and a flag the prevents you from claiming any children for EIC for the next ten years....all because their stupid friend told them they could do it.

Answer 4

no, you cant. who ever claims the child claims all related deductions, they cannot be split between individuals. your girlfriend could not claim any deductions on your child at all, because she is not her qualifying child or dependent. the child has to be related to her by blood, marriage, or adoption.

update- in your case, if you claim the child, she cannot claim the EIC. all related tax breaks go to the one that claims the child, they cannot be split up. including the EIC. sorry for the confusion

Answer 5

A "qualifying child" is generally your son, daughter, grandchild, stepchild or foster child, who was under age 19 at year end (under 24 if a full-time student for at least part of five months of the year). He or she must have lived with you in your home for at least six months of the year, counting temporary absences for school or vacation. If a foster child, he or she must have lived with you all year. A child who is permanently and totally disabled also qualifies, regardless of age. i got this from www.expresstaxrefund.com

so the answer is no

Answer 6

You cannot allow your fiance to claim your child as a deduction if you are claiming him or her. Somone will get in big dudu.

Answer 7

Unless your girlfriend is your daughter's mother, she CANNOT claim her for the EITC.

Even if she could, if she made "practically nothing" the EITC would also be "practically nothing" anyway.

Answer 8

This is a pretty common question. If your daughter lived with you, you can file as head of household for supporting her because she lived with you. However, only one person can claim her as a dependant. Both of you cannot. Your girlfriend can't claim her for anything if you do. And, you can't take your girlfriend as a dependant either.

Answer 9

no the child has to be a legal child of that person to claim them for earned income credit or as a dependent. You can not even claim your girlfriend.

Answer 10

I am confused by earned income credit. Do you pay her to care for your child? She can then claim that as income. If she did not earn much have her use short form standard deduction and she should get refund (as long as taxes were taken out)