I am asking these questions for my son and his girlfriend. Any answers would be greatly appreciated.

My son and his girlfriend had a baby in October. Of this year. They just moved back from TX to MA. She is living with her parents for the past 3 months until they get an apartment together. My son supported his girlfriend the past year in TX (she does not work). Her parents are trying to claim the baby on their taxes because she has been living there the past 3 months. Can they do that? What would happen if he claimed the baby and then they did as well? What rights do her parents have over his rights as her parent? His girlfriend is confused and does not want to cause problems while living at their home for this short time.

The rule is you have to have provided over 50% of support to claim the child.

Susie:

Scott is right. The 50% rule applies in this case, so, your son should claim the child. That is the LEGALLY CORRECT answer.

However, the son should go and get a tax professional involved so that the tax pro can serve as the "honest broker" in this case. The girl's parents may think they are entitled to claim the child, even though it is clear that they do NOT have a legal right to the child's exemption. They just may not want to hear that from either your son or from you.

If they hear it from a tax professional, however, they are much more likely to listen to reason.

I have done this a number of times. Most of the time, the parents do listen to me once I quote the pertinent regulation from the IRS publication. It's even easier today, because anyone can download the IRS pub from the IRS website and look up the quote themselves.

Sometimes, however, they will not even listen to me, in which case your son should claim the child as the biological father. If he provides a copy of the birth certificate and a brief summary of how much support he provided, the IRS WILL find in his favor.