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nevaehsmomma07 · Jan 28, 2008, 10:02 PM

Hi see I am going through this thing with my parent and my boyfriend and his parents. The thing is my boyfriend (also my daughter father) thinks he can claim her on taxes even though for the first year of her life she has lived here at my parents home with me and he also resides here but his address is his mothers house and hasn't kept a job for more than a month can he still claim her or should my parents since she has lived at their household for a year?

ebaines · Jan 29, 2008, 08:51 AM

For your boyfriend to claim the child, he must have lived in the same residence as the child for at least half the year. If he meets this test, then he can claim the child as a dependent, and his right to do so outweighs your parents', even if they would otherwise be able to claim the child. I am assuming here that you have no income yourself and hence aren't interested in claiming the child on your own taxes. However, if your boyfriend has virtually no income himself, perhaps he can be persuaded to let your parents claim the child as a dependent, as it could provide a more significant tax break for them than it would for the boyfriend.

Shell_Lee · Jan 29, 2008, 09:55 AM

Hmmm... these are always tough.

If the child lived with you, the father, and your parents, who paid for half of the child's expenses? These include shelter, food, clothing, etc. The person who provided over half the support should be the person to claim the child (unless you have a child support order in place that states the father gets to claim the child)

I too have gone through this. My son and I lived with my parents for about 2 years. I did not pay rent, electric, food, etc... while living there, so my parents claimed my son. I figured it was a good trade off for not paying rent. I NEVER asked for any money that they got back either.

AtlantaTaxExpert · Jan 30, 2008, 10:14 AM

Actually, it is NOT that tough.

Legally, the father CANNOT claim the child because he failed to provide half of the child's support. There is NO requirement that the child live with him; the support test is the key.

That said, if he DID claim the child, and the mother's parents did as well, it would require the IRS to investigate to determine who had the legal right to the exemption. This can take a LONG time (a similar case for my client for the 2006 tax year has STILL not been resolved), and while the investigation is ongoing, NO ONE gets the money!

The best avenue is for everyone to sit down, determine the legalities and who would best benefit from claiming the child, then have the person who does claim the exemption (from my viewpoint, it would be the maternal grandparents) simpy write a check to the one who does not (the father). The amount of the check would be negotiable.

That makes it a WIN-WIN for everyone involved.