my girlfriend has a child and i took care of her most of the year, however the child does not have a social security number i want to know if i can still put her on my taxes as a dependent or not,if so is there anything i need to do
2007-05-19 08:56:10 · 8 answers · asked by Anjelito 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
because i know people with no ss numbers can file tax returns by obtaining a tin number i was wondering if anything like that can be done with a child
2007-05-19 09:28:48 · update #1
no, you can not - you are not married -- AND, the child has to have a social security number -- if that was not the case, i'd claim abby, martha, kelli, katie, and kirstin on mine!
sorry!!
2007-05-19 09:00:16 · answer #1 · answered by ★★★ Katharine ♥♥♥♥ 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
To claim anyone as a dependent they generally must have a SSN. A TIN can only be used if the individual isn't eligible for an SSN.
You cannot claim the child as your Qualifying Relative since she is already the Qualifying Child of the mother. This is true even if the mother doesn't need to file a tax return.
You MIGHT be able to claim the mother as your dependent IF she lived with you all year, had less than $3,300 in gross income, was not the dependent of another taxpayer, did not file a joint return with another taxpayer, and you provided more than half of her support. Your relationship must not be illegal under local law as well. If there is a law against co-habitation, even if unenforced, you cannot claim the mother as your dependent.
Even if you can claim the mother as your dependent, you cannot claim the child under any circumstances unless you and the child's mother are married.
2007-05-19 13:09:37 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Regardless of the social security number/tin issue, you can't claim her as a qualifying child because she isn't related to you by blood or marriage. You can sometimes claim an unrelated person you supported if they lived with you all year, as a qualifying relative, but if the child AND your girlfriend lived with you for the entire year, then the child would be the qualifying child of your girlfriend (whether she claimed her or not) so could NOT be your qualifying relative.
Qualifying child and qualifying relative are the only two ways for someone to be a dependent, and this child doesn't meet the requirements under either type for you to claim him or her.
So no, you can't claim the child, and it has nothing to do with the lack of ssn.
These rules went in a few years ago.
If your girlfriend lived with you ALL year, you provided over half of her support, and she didn't have gross income over $3300, then you can very possibly claim her as a dependent, but can't claim head of household status because of her.
2007-05-19 12:05:58 · answer #3 · answered by Judy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely, you can claim her if you want. Hell, you can claim my children if you want. The fact is you cant legally do it and you will probably be either; spending the rest of your life trying to pay back the money with penalties or holding hands with bubba in a Federal prison. To answer simply; NO.... Don't even try it, you can kill someone in this country and get away with it, but if you steal a nickel from the IRS they will hunt you and penalize you till the end of the earth.
I appreciate that you took care of your girlfriends child, the world need more men like you. If you want a tax break, marry the girls momma and be a dad to her child. Everyone wins. Good Luck....
2007-05-19 09:09:36 · answer #4 · answered by cackm1 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Social Security Card issue is not relevant, read on.
Two years ago the answer would have been yes. However, in 2006 the rules changed, and if you live with the child's mother, and her child is not your child, then you cannot claim that child as a dependent regardless of the support you may have provided her.
You can claim a child as a "qualifying child" only if it is your biological child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, step-sibling, or descendant of one of these.
The rules also say that the child is the "qualifying child" of the mother and therefore cannot be the dependent of any nonrelative.
The rules changed to eliminate a large amount of fraud by nonrelatives claiming children. As in your case, that is unfortunate.
2007-05-19 09:23:28 · answer #5 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Check out the IRS rules for dependents. I am not sure about the social security number but I think she has to have one. A number should be easy for the mother to get. The child has to live with you and you have to provide more than half of the childs support, ie. food, housing, clothes, etc. My dad was not working and he was living with a friend. His friend actually claimed him as a dependent.
2007-05-19 09:05:51 · answer #6 · answered by travelguruette 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
You can claim the child but a social security number is a MUST, also you need to make sure that no one else can or has claimed the child as a dependant. Good luck.
2007-05-19 09:05:15 · answer #7 · answered by Luci Z 1 · 0⤊ 4⤋
You can't claim her, she is no relation to you at all. She is the legal dependant of her mother (who you can't claim either).
The child was issued a SSN at birth, she has one, it just isn't any of your business.
2007-05-19 09:47:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋