Beckley, WV asked in Tax Law and Family Law for West Virginia

Q: I have a newborn baby and me an my boyfriend are 17 living with his parents are they aloud to file there taxes on

Me an my baby Without legal guardian ship in wv

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: You parents may list you, and/or your baby, and/or your boyfriend on their return as dependents if any of you are dependents according to the IRS. The test is presented in publication 501 and can be found here: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html.

For relatives the test is:

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a student, and younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly), or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.

3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.

4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.

5. The child must not be filing a joint return for the year (unless that joint return is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).

For your boyfriend the test would be slightly different:

1. The person can't be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you in one of the ways listed under Relatives who don't have to live with you , or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household (and your relationship must not violate local law).

3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050.

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

So the answer to your question is maybe. The above is the general rule and there may be more to consider with your situation, especially if you are involved in a domestic law case. I would suggest talking with your parents and a professional to determine the best tax situation for all involved.

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