Your Tax Questions Answered
Girlfriend as a Dependent?
Kiplinger editorial director Kevin McCormally and fellow tax experts Peter Blank and Mary Beth Franklin tackle your most pressing tax challenges.
April 13, 2009
QUESTION: Last year I had to support my live in girlfriend because she has been unable to work due to a medical reason. Can I claim her as a dependent?
KEVIN ANSWERS: If she lived with you for the entire year, her income was under $3,500
for 2008 and you provided for more than half of her support (and she
does not qualify as a "qualifying child" for her parents' to claim her
as a dependent), then you may qualify to claim her as a dependent.
See all the rules for dependents starting on page 25 in IRS Publication 17: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf
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Reader Comments (2)
Posted by: Mike Bowlin at 06/16/2010 09:41:17 AM
The person may not claim his girlfriend as a dependent IF he lives in a state in which the relationship with the girlfriend is in violation of local law. (i.e. it is illegal to co-habitate in North Carolina, therefore, they would fail the Relationship test for a dependent)
Posted by: Sam at 07/27/2010 05:27:24 PM
Mike Bowlin - please cite *one* case where the IRS disallowed a dependent deduction for this reason. My tax attorney advised that the problem with this strategy is that if the dollars were large enough, gift tax comes into play.