[Semaj73]

My boyfriend and I have lived together for four years now. He is the main source of income and sole provider for the children and me. I don't work at all, so can he claim my children on his taxes?

[joypulv]

If they are at home, 18 or under or students in college, the bio father isn't claiming them, and you aren't getting state or federal benefits for them in which you don't disclose his income, yes.

[Semaj73]

My boyfriend and I have live together for four years now. I have four children that aren't his. They all live here with us and He is the Sole provider for all of us. I don't work at all. He is the main source of income and Head of house. Can he claim my children on his taxes?

[Semaj73]

No, their biological father doesn't claim them and I don't receive any state or federal benefits of which he's not disclosed. However, he tried to claim my children in 2009 and now has a tax Levy on him.

[taxesforaliens]

Your children cannot be your boyfriends qualifying children. So he would not be able to claim the EIC, child tax credit or file as head of household. However, he might be able to claim all of you as qualifying relatives. Since you are not related, you all must have lived with your boyfriend for the entire year to satisfy the relationship requirement.

Six Criteria for Qualifying Relatives (http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/a/Dependents_3.htm)

To be claimed as a qualifying relative, the person must meet all of the following criteria:

Not a qualifying child - The dependent cannot be a qualifying child of another taxpayer.

Gross Income – The dependent earns less than the personal exemption amount during the year. For 2009 and 2010, this means the dependent earns less than $3,650.

Total Support – You provide more than half of the dependent's total support during the year.

Relationship – You are related to the dependent in certain ways.

Joint Return – If the dependent is married, the dependent cannot file a joint return with his or her spouse.

Citizenship – The dependent must be a citizen or resident alien of the United States, Canada, or Mexico.

[joypulv]

They are your boyfriend's 'qualifying relatives' (even though they are not related).
Maybe he took some child credits he wasn't entitled to (such as 'qualifying child,' which they are not).
From IRS.gov

Example 1.

A supports as members of his household for the taxable year an unrelated friend, B, and her 3-year-old child, C. B has no gross income, is not required by section 6012 to file an income tax return, and does not file an income tax return for the taxable year. Accordingly, because B does not have a filing requirement and did not file an income tax return, C is not treated as a qualifying child of B or any other taxpayer, and A may claim both B and C as his qualifying relatives, provided all other requirements of sections 151 and 152 to qualify for the deduction are met.

[joypulv]

Some things that may or may not be allowed or which may be differing amounts are head of household filing status, the earned income credit, child tax credit, the child and dependent care credit, and the dependency exemption deduction.

Now would be a good time to go to an IRS office and find out what he claimed that he shouldn't have.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Okay, he CAN claim the children as "qualifying relatives", so he will get their (and your) personal exemptions.

However, he will NOT get either the Child Tax Credit nor the Earned Income Credit, nor can he file as Head of Household because the children are NOt his by biology or adoption.

All that would change if you two got married before the end of 2011, because then you would file JOINTLY and you could get AT LEAST the Child Tax Credit and perhaps (depending on his income) the Earned Income Credit. If you are legally married under the laws of your state on 31 December 2011, you are considered to be married for ALL of 2011.

something to consider: you MAY be considered married under common law.

Common-law marriage can still be contracted in TEN states (Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah) and in the District of Columbia. If you live in one of these states, a phone call to the local court house will confirm this and you can determine if you meet the qualifications. Further, if you DO qualify for common law marriage, then you can amend your 2008, 2009 and 2010 to file jointly and FIX the tax levy from 2009.

If you want more details or to discuss this, check out my profile (by double clicking on my title above) and email me your phone number.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Redundant question; see my answer on other post.