Can someone claim a child on their taxes is they are not biologically theirs?

Me and my boyfriend have lived together for 4 years. I have 2 kids, i usually claim both of the kids on my tax return. My question is .. can he claim 1 of the children, so he can claim Head of House hold and get more money??
We are not married..
we did a calculation of what he would get back in taxes this coming year and it was very low.. so I thought if he could claim one of the kids then he could claim head of house hold and would get more money.

I have claimed my stepchildren for 6 years now, but my wife hasn't worked, even before we were married.

No, if you are filing a return or had over $3500 income for 2008, he can't claim one of your children. If you had no income, the answer might be different.

And even if he could claim one of them, or claim you, that would NOT qualify him to file as head of household. Only immediate family members qualify a person for HofH.

As usual with a question on who can claim a dependent, a number of people have given wrong answers.

No. If you made over $3500 for the year, he can not claim your kids. If you made less than $3500 he would be to claim the kids but he would not qualify for Head of Household or the Child Tax Credit.

Yes if he marries you, or adopts your children.

Otherwise it's illegal, sorry.

From your information, you are a taxpayer and you file a tax return and receive credits for your dependents. Under this circumstance, your boyfriend cannot claim the children as dependents even if he supported them and lived with them all year.

It is possible under restricted situations (where you do not file a tax return for example) for a taxpayer to claim a nonrelated child and receive an exemption. However this never qualifies the taxpayer for Head of Household filing status, earned income credit, or child tax credit.

Check with an accountant or tax advisor before doing what you propose, or even ask the IRS tip line. Don't rely on Yahoo Answers for tax advice. Doing taxes wrong has legal consequences. Many answers here will be wrong.

My answer:

No. While a person can claim a child on their taxes that is not biogically theirs, that child does need to be their legal dependent. That usually means adoption (adopted), or at least you need to be married (stepchild).

He doesn't qualify as Head of Household regardless of your income. He needs to have a "qualifying person" whom he is supporting. Your child does not qualify, as he has no legal relationship (not adopted, not stepchild, not foster child, no blood relationship). Your child is legally your dependent, not his.

From IRS publication 501:
======================================
Head of Household
You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements.

You are unmarried or â€œconsidered unmarriedâ€ on the last day of the year.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.

A â€œqualifying personâ€ lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the â€œqualifying personâ€ is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to live with you. See Special rule for parent, later, under Qualifying Person.
=================================
"Qualifying Person"
To qualify for the head of household filing status, a qualifying person needs to live with you in your home for more than half the year. The rules for qualifying persons for HOH purposes is different than the rules for dependents. Only certain types of relatives can be qualifying persons for HOH as follows:

Child, step child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these whom you can claim as a dependent under the qualifying children rules;

Child, step child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these whom you would be able to claim as a dependent under the qualifying children rules but choose not to claim as a dependent because you released the dependent's exemption to the noncustodial parent;

Mother or father who can be claimed as a dependent under the qualifying relative rules;

Brother, sister, grandparent, niece, or nephew whom you can claim as a dependent under the qualifying relative rules.

=========================

A dependent can be your qualifying child or qualifying relative. Read about the requirements to claim a dependent: http://taxipay.blogspot.com/2008/03/requirements-for-claiming-dependent.html

My hubby could not declare my daughter until we were married & he filed as HOH. Every state is different, call your state IRS.

Yes as long as no one else claims him.

my kids aunt who lives in another state claimed my daughter on her taxes but her taxes has been put on hold, she claimed her 2 years ago and it was fine.. i claimed her last year cause i worked. why would her taxes be put on hold??? i have friends who claim half there kids and have other people not related to them claim half there kids so they get more and they don't get there taxes on hold.. anyone know what can have caused this

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