Can I Claim My Boyfriend on My Taxes?

Most taxpayers know that your taxes can change when you get married. However, what are the tax benefits if you’re not married, but live with your partner? You might be asking, “Can I claim my boyfriend on my taxes?”

The answer is yes, you can claim a significant other. But if you’re claiming your boyfriend as a dependent on your taxes, you have to meet seven requirements.

Criteria for Claiming Your Boyfriend on Your Taxes

If you want to claim your boyfriend on your taxes, all of these must be true:

• You can’t be someone else’s dependent, even if they don’t claim you as a dependent.
• He can’t qualify as anyone else’s qualifying child.
• He can’t file a joint return unless he’s only filing to get a refund of tax withheld.
• He must be one of these:
  • U.S. citizen
  • U.S. resident
  • U.S. national
  • Resident of Canada or Mexico
• He must have lived with you all 365 days of the year as a member of your household.
• He must have gross income (income that’s not exempt from tax) of less than $4,200. This includes the taxable part of these:
  • Social Security
  • Pensions
  • Scholarships
  • Unemployment
  • All other taxable income
• You must have provided more than half of his support. This includes all money spent supporting the person, like:
  • Food stamps
  • Housing assistance
  • Other government assistance

To calculate how much support you provided, use Worksheet 3-1 in IRS Publication 17: Worksheet for Determining Support. If you use the worksheet, keep it with your copy of your return for your records.