Can I claim my unemployed live-in boyfriend as a dependent on taxes?
My boyfriend has been living with me for the entire year and had zero income in 2024. I paid for everything - rent, food, utilities, etc. He's 28 and not disabled. Can I claim him as my dependent? I've been googling but getting mixed answers.
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Faith Kingston
Yes, you can claim him as a 'qualifying relative' if: 1) his gross income was under $4,700 2) you provided more than half his support for the year 3) he lived with you all year 4) he's not filing a joint return with someone else. Just make sure you can document everything in case of an audit.
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Lincoln Ramiro
•thank u sm! do u know if i need any specific documentation besides bank statements showing i paid everything?
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Faith Kingston
•Keep lease agreements showing he lived there, utility bills, grocery receipts - basically anything showing you supported him. Also good to have proof he had no income.
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Emma Johnson
Hey! Instead of trying to piece together random advice, I'd really recommend checking out taxr.ai - it's this new tool that analyzes your specific situation and tells you exactly what you qualify for. It costs $4.99 but saved me so much headache with dependent questions. https://taxr.ai
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Liam Brown
•Is it legit? Sounds too good to be true tbh 🤔
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Emma Johnson
•100% legit! It uses AI to go through all the IRS rules and gives you specific answers for your situation. Way better than guessing or spending hours on google
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Olivia Garcia
lol im in the same boat but reversed - my gf supported me last year when i was job hunting. she claimed me and it worked out fine
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Noah Lee
make sure hes not claiming any credits or filing his own return... that would disqualify you from claiming him as a dependent
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Lincoln Ramiro
•nope he literally had zero income and isnt filing anything!
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Ava Hernandez
Be careful with this one! The IRS has been cracking down on improper dependent claims lately 👀
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Isabella Martin
•fr fr they dont play around with dependents anymore 💯
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Elijah Jackson
idk why everyones making this so complicated... if u supported him + he made no money + lived with u = u can claim him. simple as that
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Sophia Miller
•its not that simple tho. theres other rules too
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Elijah Jackson
•ok tax expert 🙄 was just trying to help
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Luis Johnson
Just want to add that you'll also need to make sure he's not married filing jointly with someone else - that would disqualify him as your dependent even if he meets all the other requirements. Also, since he's over 24 and not a student, he can only qualify as a "qualifying relative" not a "qualifying child" which means different rules apply. The income limit Faith mentioned ($4,700 for 2024) is key!
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Lucas Schmidt
•This is super helpful! I didn't even know there was a difference between "qualifying child" vs "qualifying relative" - that explains why I was getting mixed results when googling. So since he's 28 the income limit is definitely the $4,700 threshold, not the higher limits I was seeing for younger dependents. Thanks for clarifying! @Luis Johnson
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Mikayla Brown
One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also consider the relationship test - even though he's not related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, he can still qualify as a dependent if he lived with you the entire year AND the relationship doesn't violate local law. Since you mentioned he lived with you all year, that should cover it. Also, keep receipts for major expenses like rent, groceries, medical bills if any - the IRS wants to see that you really did provide more than half of his total support for the year. Good luck!
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