Situation: A boyfriend and girlfriend have been living together for less than one year. The two children do not belong to the boyfriend. They are the girlfriend's children. When it was time to file for '06, the boyfriend claimed both of the children (with gf's permission) on his tax form. Is this legal? Do you know anyone who has done this & then the IRS wanted the BIG refund back?? Is there a website that would say if this is legal? I searched on the IRS website but did not see anything. Thanks for your help!
2007-08-21 07:28:23 · 14 answers · asked by ? 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The girlfriend did not claim the children. The boyfriend claimed and then they split the money. (It's not me tho..seriously!) :-)
2007-08-21 07:33:28 · update #1
To Johnny S: How about providing an answer worth something instead of judging someone. I do agree that living together outside of marriage is sin, but the Bible also says to do all things in love bc without love you have nothing!
2007-08-21 07:43:44 · update #2
The gf did not claim the children. I'm not sure if the boyfriend claimed the gf as a dependent or not. She only half worked through-out the year. I don't think the biological father claimed the children.
2007-08-21 07:47:31 · update #3
One of my areas of specialty is tax law.
Under the Uniform Definition of a Child, the boyfriend has no right to claim the children for tax purposes. This is due to the fact that the girlfriend probably COULD claim the children, but elected not to.
The rule, enacted by Congress in 2004, and effective in 2005, means that if another person CAN claim a child as a dependent, then no other person can claim that person, regardless of whether the person who CAN claim the child does so. In the case of two unmarried individuals, this means that a live-in boyfriend (or girlfriend) can't claim the other's children as dependents, even if in the past they may have been able to do so.
If the IRS catches the fact that the children are in fact not the dependents, then the IRS will most likely recompute the taxes without the dependents, and will send a bill for the proper tax.. meaning there may very well be a large amount of back taxes payable. If you want to search the IRS website, look up Uniform Definition of a Child on the IRS website.
In cases like this, where the taxes can potentially be complicated, I suggest you contact a tax professional to assist you.
2007-08-21 10:01:49 · answer #1 · answered by Phil R 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's not legal because they need to be his blood children for him to claim them. But, if the girlfriend does not claim them on her tax return, then most likely the IRS will not uncover this, as they would only notice if the children were claimed twice. Then the IRS would have an issue. I've attached a link about claiming children. Qualifying Children To be claimed as a qualifying child, the person must meet four criteria: Relationship — the person must be your child, step child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild or nephew). Residence — for more than half the year, the person must have the same residence as you do. (More than half a year means, at minimum, six months and one day.) Age — the person must be under age 19 at the end of the year, or under age 24 and a be a full-time student for at least five months out of the year, or any age and totally and permanently disabled. Support — the person did not provide more than half of his or her own support during the year. TIPS The qualifying child must live with you for more than half the year. The old rules stated that the taxpayer must provide over half the support. The new rules state that the qualifying child must not provide more than half of his or her own support. The change makes it easier for families relying on public assistance, charity, and gifts from family members to claim a dependent. If a child does not meet the criteria to be a "qualifying child," you may still be able to claim the child as a dependent using the tie-breaker tests or the qualifying relative tests.
2016-05-19 00:31:08 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try An IRS Attorney. The IRS regulations are like growing mountains. Often Anyone can claim anyone else as a dependant-if they provide 51% of the support. But then the father could also be claiming. You would need a Tax attorney to prove the BF spent whatever amount the mountion of regulations, says.
2007-08-21 08:53:47 · answer #3 · answered by janshouse justice for all 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think they have to be living there for a certain number of months in order to be claimed. Did the girlfriend claim the children as well? They're really not his legally, in any sense!
They need to get married before they make more of a mess! They can't file jointly.
2007-08-21 07:37:32 · answer #4 · answered by Lisa 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I do not know tax law, but my guess would be that the boyfriend cannot claim the children as dependants. This is because he is not legally obligated to provide support for them. There does not appear to be any basis as to why he would be obligated so he should not be able to claim a benefit. Sounds like audit time.
2007-08-21 07:35:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
it is legal if the boyfriend actually provides for the children , like if you don't have a job and he provides all rent and food
2007-08-21 07:33:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did she file? Isn't she the custodian of the kids? She should have claimed them. Not legal for him to do it, since he does not have legal custody.
2007-08-21 07:35:18 · answer #7 · answered by kiwi 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The link below answers this question.
2007-08-21 07:51:34 · answer #8 · answered by abaresque319 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He will probably be audited especially if the babies daddies are claiming them too.
2007-08-21 07:39:12 · answer #9 · answered by shipwreck 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
2007-08-21 07:32:47 · answer #10 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋