Deleted due to harassment.
No, he can't claim either of you or file as head of household. You can verify this with a CPA or the IRS.
You need to ask a tax professional. You are not married, so I don't know if "head of household" applies without that being a part of the situation.
Here is some info from the IRS website confirming that you can file as married and therefore he can claim your daughter as his dependent. As you probably already learned, he can't claim head of household, as you are not his dependent so he can't "claim" you.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch02.html
Considered married. You are considered married for the whole year if on the last day of your tax year you and your spouse meet any one of the following tests.
1.You are married and living together as husband and wife.
2.You are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in the state where you now live or in the state where the common law marriage began.
3.You are married and living apart, but not legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance.
4.You are separated under an interlocutory (not final) decree of divorce. For purposes of filing a joint return, you are not considered divorced.
And here's my editorial...gotta love a state where a hetero couple can have the legal rights of marriage after merely living together for 6 months but a gay couple can't...that's pretty ridiculous.
You need to ask a professional this question. Call the IRS and ask their hotline. Don't rely on general info you get on a public forum.
The IRS does not deal with responses such as "I didn't know" as an excuse. Just make sure you have all your paperwork 100% correct.
Not getting into the middle of a lot of water under the bridge while I wasn't keeping up....
but I just want to point out that your So What Happened gives conflicting information from different sources. First you said the lady at HRB said that under Texas law you are considered common law married. Then, in the next paragraph you said, "Texas: A man and woman who want to establish a common-law marriage must sign a form... "
I didn't notice in your post(s) anywhere (perhaps I overlooked it?) where you mention having filed that form with the county clerk. If you have not, then whatever source you got that paragraph of information from would indicate that you are NOT common-law married, and the very nice lady from HRB (while she may be completely correct that you can file married if your marriage is common law, and that TX does in fact recognized common law marriages),may not fully understand what is required to constitute a common law marriage. No offense to HRB folks, I am friends with someone who works for them. But the first year we did our taxes in our current state (which has State income tax) we went to HRB. We had lived most of the year in a state that has no state income tax (Florida) and his employer began deducting it when he notified HR of the address change, and mine didn't, and we wanted to be sure we did everything correctly, and we weren't sure how to figure out what we owed to the State. My husband had to go back 3 times, every time getting a different calculation, including from someone in management. We ended up going to a private CPA firm, because HRB didn't seem to know everything they needed to, to do our paperwork accurately/correctly.
Since your fiancee (common-law husband?) seems to have adequate funds, why not just go to a personal CPA instead of an accountant in a box? It doesn't cost that much. I'd bet my husband and I pay less to our CPA than lots of folks pay at HRB.
ETA: Given that you represent this man as your "fiance" several times in this very post, I would say that you already disqualify yourselves as "holding yourselves out to be married" since by definition, you do not represent yourselves to those of us in the public as married, but rather as in an engagement period.
State law is one thing, federal law is another.
I wouldn't necessarily go by what the "sweet lady" at H & R Block told you.
Call the IRS line and get a firm answer.
And in the mean time, just get married already, what are you waiting for? If you are saving money for a "real" wedding, ring, blah, blah, blah, ok but at least make it legal now so you don't need to worry about this kind of stuff.
Contact a local tax preparer and ask them.
I don't believe he can claim you or your daughter as you have no legal or biological ties to one another.
My husband was able to claim my daughter (who wasn't his biological child) because we were married and I was her custodial parent. She qualified as one of his "dependents".
Since my divorce, I've claimed single/head of household as the sole provider for my biological children. My ex couldn't claim even our son because our son didn't live with him more than 6 months out of the year and he didn't provide over 50% of his living expenses, etc.
Ask a professional, for sure.
***Texas recognizes "common law" marriages, but federal law trumps state law, so I would make doubly sure before filing federal returns.
I would double check the law regarding common law. I realize Texas acknowledges common law, but 6 months of cohabitation seems like a really short time. Also, just introducing yourself as married or using the same name, doesn't sound right either. I asked my accountant about my husband declaring me on his taxes, and he said we couldn't do that eventhough I've been a stay at home mom for 3 years as well. Our accountant was in Plano, we just moved from Allen, and that was for 2011 taxes.
That's a good question. However, I do not know the answer. I would contact a tax professional and find out. What did the IRS website say?
Here's what I found on a google search...
These rules enable you claim a child as a dependent.
Qualifying Children: To be claimed as a qualifying child, the person must meet four criteria:
Relationship — the person must be your child, step child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild or nephew).
Residence — for more than half the year, the person must have the same residence as you do.
Age — the person must be
* under age 19 at the end of the year, or
* under age 24 and a be a full-time student for at least five months out of the year, or
* any age and totally and permanently disabled.
Support — the person did not provide more than half of his or her own support during the year.
Some Tips about Claiming Qualifying Children
The qualifying child must live with you for more than half the year. More than half a year means, at minimum, six months and one day. If you share custody, you may want to keep a log of where the child spends the night in your calendar or day planner.
So if these qualifications are met - then he should be able to claim her!!
If the biological father is absent.....maybe he should adopt her and you guys get married! :)
No, not until you are married. Not head of household, no dependents, he files as single, no children until then.
Now, if you get married, he can file as head of household and since the child is yours, he can claim the child as a step child.
Still single: out of luck for him.
Not unless you're married, I believe. Check with your tax guy....
Our accountant had my not-then-husband claim both myself and our son on his taxes for 3 years prior to our marriage.
We didn't have to be married to be dependents.
Yes he can as long as you don't make more then 3750 dollars in the year (the amount of the standard deduction for you) and he pays more then 50% of both of your expenses AND you lived with him for the ENTIRE year. I claimed my son's father the year that I was pregnant because he fiinto that category. You don't have to be common law married. But, make sure you have your ducks a row, as you would have to prove it if birth father ever reappears. He can also take the credits that you and your daughter would be eligible for (The college credit, EIC, child tax credit, etc. etc. etc).
ADDED:
He cannot claim your child though if he does not qualify to claim you. You would qualify as a Qualifying relative if you meet the following:
1) You make less then the standard deduction in the tax year
2) You lived with him for the ENTIRE year (not just 11 months, but all 12) and the relationship does not violate local laws
3) He provided more then hald of your support
4) You are a US citizen
5) You are not married to someone else and filing a joint return (like in the case where maybe a wife lives with her parents as part of a seperation, but the husband still files jointly)
Oh but he CANNOT file as head of household since she is not LEGALLY his stepdaughter yet. Both of you fit as "qualifying relatives." You can only file head of household if it is a "qualifying child" which requires actual biological or legal relationship standards. So he would have to file single, but he'll get a lot of credits and a higher deduction which will pretty much help him get a larger refund/owe less.
I had to call the IRS twice to clarify this and both times was told the same thing.
Here, no. Maybe there?
Is there a reason why he is just your fiancee? I am still wondering this, so I was wondering if perhaps you are getting any other government benefits. If so, then most definitely not. I do not mean it bad, I am simply saying that one would completely negate the other. And out of nosiness why don't you run to city Hall and get married? That is only a few dollars and he can claim you both forever. My husband (stepfather to my two children) was also able to put mine on the insurance. But that is after we were officially married. Go ahead take the plunge!
I think this would best be answered by a CPA. I don't think HE can, but YOU should be able to on YOUR tax return, if you have any taxable income. But if you are not married, I don't think he can claim "head of household" or claim either of you as dependents - you have to file separately until you are legally married. Also, 2 parents (if they are not married or are divorced) cannot both claim the same child - my husband is allowed to claim one of his kids from his first marriage, but his ex has to have paperwork filed that gives him permission to do so. It doesn't matter if he is fully supporting you or not - I don't think he claim you guys without being married, or offically adopting your child as his own.
If he's been providing for you guys for the past 3 years, why is it just coming up as a question now?
If your married yes. My ex SIL husband claims my nephew because she has sole custody.
