Who should claim the baby on taxes when parents live together but are not married?
Both unmarried parents who live together are entitled to claim the child for all the benefits, but only one of them can. They cannot split the benefits. Either one takes all the benefits for a child or the other takes all the benefits for the child. If the parents cannot agree then the parent with the higher income will be granted to childs tax benefits by the IRS. The benefits of claiming a child are: (1) dependency exemption (2) child tax credit (3) additional child tax credit (4) dependent care benefits (5) education credits and/or deductions (6) earned income credit (7) head of household, but only for the parent who pays more than half of the costs of maintaining the household — both cannot qualify for this because both cannot pay more than half the cost. Richard K Master tax Advisor HR Block This advice was based upon my understanding the law in effect at the time it was written as it applies to the facts provided by you. See my profile for more infromation.
