am i a qualified dependant?

Question

My partner and i have been together for 16 years and we have always filed our own tax returns, but for 2 years now i didn't work or file at all. She pays for EVERYTHING. Can she claim me as a dependant? If so, what is the best way to amend last years return? thanks...

Answer 1

Yes, as long as

1. You had gross income less than $3,400 ($3,300 for 2006)
2. You lived with your partner 12 months of the year
3. Your partner provided over half of your support

If this applied for 2006, your partner would file a 1040X and add you as a dependent.

If there are no other persons in your household, your partner would file as Single. The Head of Household status does not apply here.

Answer 2

If you lived together for the entire year, your income was under the value of an exemption for that year ($3400 this year, $3300 for 2006), she paid over half of your total support for the year, and your relationship doesn't violate any local law, then she can probably claim you as a qualifying relative. In IRS-speak, "qualifying relative" does not require that you are related by blood or marriage.

She would amend last year's return on by filling out a form 1040X and mailing it in. The easiest way to do a 1040X is to fill out a new, corrected return for the year, and lay them side by side when filling in the 1040X.

Answer 3

ninasgramma is right! If you didn't have income over the exemption amount, you can be a qualifying dependent.

However, you will not qualify your partner as Head of Household (which requires a qualifying child).
Your partner would be single filing status but you would be an additional dependent exemption.

Answer 4

Log on to the IRS.com. Go to Qualifying Dependents. Being that your over the age of 18 and not in college, and not disabled, then probably not. If you have "claimed yourself" on previous returns, Then your not qualified.

Answer 5

Not anymore.

The government is exerting their discrimination and have removed the ability for a non-relative to claim head of household.

Write your congressman about the bs!

Answer 6

Sorry, but you aren't related to her, so she can't claim you.

Who is a Dependent?

According to the IRS, a dependent is a person who meets all five of the following criteria:

The person is a member of your household, or related to you.
You provide at least half of the person’s support.
The person’s gross income is less than $3,000.
The person must not have filed a joint return, except in certain circumstances.
The person must be a U.S. citizen or resident.
Basically, you can claim the person as a dependent if 1) the person is a relative and 2) you provided more than half of the person's support and 3) the person didn’t make too much money on his or her own.

But, because the IRS rules are incredibly complicated, you need to take a very detailed look at each of these tests, to make sure that the person really counts as a dependent. Remember: this is a Pass/Fail situation. If the person doesn't pass all these tests, the IRS will not allow you to claim him or her as a dependent.

The Person is a Member of Household or Related to You

To qualify as a dependent, the person must be a relative, or the person lived with you for the entire year. Note the or in that sentence.

Who’s a relative? The following count as relatives:

Your child, stepchild, adopted child, grandchild, or great-grandchild.
A foster child who lived in your home for the entire year, or a child placed with you by an authorized placement agency for legal adoption. However, if a state or tax-exempt child-placement agency makes payments to you as a foster parent, you may not claim the child as your dependent.
Your son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
Your parent, stepparent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or great-grandparent.
Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.
Your aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece, if related by blood.
Anyone who lived in your home as a family member for the entire year meets this test, as long as the relationship does not violate local law.

You Provide Over Half the Person’s Support

Generally, you need to provide over half the person’s support during the year.

To determine whether you meet the support test, you first calculate the total cost of supporting that person. Then compare the amount of support you provided and see if it's more than half. If it is, you meet the test.

Consider these rules in calculating support:

Support includes food, clothing, a place to live, medical and dental care, education, recreation, transportation, and similar necessities. Add up amounts actually spent. Support is not based on the length of time you provided these items.
Items that don’t directly relate to any one member of the household (such as food and utilities) are prorated based on the number of members in the household.
To determine the value of lodging, use the fair rental value. This is the amount you could reasonably expect from a stranger for the same lodging.
All child support payments received are considered support of the child by the parent who provided them.
Do not include the following payments in total support:

Income taxes, social security taxes, and Medicare taxes
Life insurance premiums
Funeral expenses
Scholarships received by your child if your child is a full-time student
Survivors’ and dependents’ educational assistance payments used to support the child who receives them
Money received from state benefits (welfare and food stamps), which is considered as support provided by the state, and not by you.
The person’s own money is not considered support unless it's actually spent on his or her own support.

Also: There are special rules for children of divorced or separated parents and for persons receiving support from two or more individuals. If this applies to you, read IRS Publication 504: Divorced or Separated Individuals.

The Person’s Gross Income Must Be Less than $3,000

Generally, the person's gross income must be less than $3,000. This total does not include non-taxable income such as welfare benefits or non-taxable Social Security benefits.

Your child can have more than $3,000 of gross income if one of the following applies:

Your child was under age 19 at the end of the year, or
Your child was under age 24 at the end of the year and qualifies as a student. Your child qualifies as a student if he or she was enrolled as a full-time student at a school during any five months of the year or took a full-time on-farm training course during any five months of the year.
What’s a school? For the IRS, the term school includes technical, trade, and mechanical schools but does not include on-the-job training courses, correspondence schools, or night school.

What’s full time? Full-time means the number of courses or hours the school considers to be full-time attendance.

The Person Must Not Have Filed a Joint Return Except…

If the person is married and files a joint return, you cannot claim the person as a dependent unless the person or the person's spouse is not required to file, but files a joint return anyway to get a refund of all tax withheld. In this case, you may claim that person as long as they meet the other four tests.

The Person Must Be a U.S. Citizen or Resident

The person must be a U.S. citizen, resident, or a national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

If you adopted a child in 2002, the citizenship test doesn’t need to be met if the child lived with you for the entire year in your household.

The Person Must Have a Social Security Number

To list a person as a dependent on your return, you must list the person’s Social Security number.

To get a Social Security number, contact your nearest Social Security Administration office or call the IRS at 1-800-TAX-FORM. They will send you a copy of Form SS-5 to apply for a number. You can also get this form from the Social Security Administration web site. It usually takes about two weeks to get a Social Security number.

Exception: If your dependent cannot get a Social Security number, you must have:

An individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) if the dependent is not a U.S. citizen, or
An adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) for an adopted child.
For information about the ITIN, see the IRS FAQ on ITIN. Use Form W-7 to apply to the IRS for an ITIN.

Use Form W-7A to apply for an ATIN. Note that you cannot claim a person as a qualifying child for the earned income credit using an ITIN or ATIN (you must have a valid Social Security number for that person).