How to Claim Your Partner as a Dependent on Your Taxes
** Our Trainers are not tax advisors nor do we provide specific tax advice in this blog. The purpose of this blog post is to provide a general overview.
Each tax season, people search for ways to lower their tax bills and increase their refunds. Fortunately, there are many tax deductions and credits to reduce your overall tax burden, including claiming dependents, if your situation qualifies.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has strict requirements as to who can be claimed as your dependent. As you get ready to file your taxes, you may be wondering if you can claim your partner as your dependent.
Here’s what you need to know about claiming dependents on your taxes and where you might run into some barriers.
Can I claim my partner as a dependent?
The short answer is yes. But only if you meet certain criteria.
The IRS has a somewhat loose definition of what a “qualifying relative” is when determining who can be claimed as a dependent on your taxes.
Although the IRS uses the word “relative”, you’re still able to claim someone who isn’t related to you. To qualify, the person must meet criteria related to residency, income, and support.
There is no longer a personal exemption deduction per dependent according to the new tax law. The taxpayer only gets a standard or itemized deduction. The standard deduction for a single person is $12,200 and a married couple filing jointly is $24,400.
Requirements for claiming dependents on taxes
To better answer whether you can claim your partner as your dependent, let’s look at what qualifies as a dependent.
The residency test
The residency requirement dictates that your significant other must be a full-time member of your household. Although there are exceptions for temporary absences — like vacations or medical treatment — your address must have been that person’s official residence for the year.
This means you won’t be able to claim your partner if they maintained their own residence while you lived together. You’re also out of luck if they moved in after January 1 since the requirement is for the full calendar year.
Level of support you provide
You must have paid at least half of your partner’s living expenses in order to claim them as your dependent. You’ll need to include the funds you provided, any money received from other people, and your partner’s own contributions when calculating the total amount of support.
You should keep detailed records of any bills or expenses that you pay for on behalf of your partner throughout the year. Track everything from housing and food expenses to medical care and education costs.
You’ll only be able to check this requirement off if you can prove that you cover more than 50% of their living expenses. This can get tricky if your partner is also receiving financial help from parents or other family members.
Amount of income earned
You may be able to claim your partner if their gross income is within a certain limit. For the 2019 tax year, the income limit is $4,200.
Keep in mind that gross income is calculated before accounting for tax deductions and other ways of lowering your taxable income. Gross income includes all sources of income that are not considered tax-exempt, including wages, unemployment compensation and interest earned from a savings account.
Factors that’ll keep you from claiming a dependent
If your partner meets all of the IRS “qualifying relative” requirements, there are some scenarios that could still prevent you from being able to claim them as your dependent.
Someone else can claim your partner as a dependent. If your partner’s parents or other relatives plan to claim them as a dependent, you won’t be eligible to do so. However, that person must be able to prove your partner is dependent on their household.
Your partner isn’t a U.S. citizen or resident. Your partner must be a U.S. citizen, resident or national — or a resident of Canada or Mexico. If they’re on a temporary visa or applying for citizenship, you won’t be able to claim them until their status officially changes.
Your living arrangement violates local law. Unfortunately, there are still states where “cohabitation” by unmarried people is considered against the law. If you live in one of these areas, you won’t be able to claim your partner as a dependent.
Your relationship status isn’t legal. You may not be able to claim your partner as a dependent if they’re still legally married to someone else. Some states make it illegal to cohabit with someone who is married. Even if you live in an area where it isn’t illegal, there are some tax hoops to jump through to make it possible to claim them as a dependent. For example, they’ll need to file a “married filing separately” tax return — not a joint return with his spouse.
You aren’t required to file a tax return. You won’t be able to claim your partner if you aren’t required to file a tax return yourself. If you choose to file a return solely to receive a refund, you won’t be eligible to claim them as your dependent.
If you need assistance determining whether you may be able to claim your partner as a dependent, reach out to a tax professional to learn more about your options this tax season.