Fiancee... dependent?

I recently moved to SF, CA so my fiancee could pursue her law degree. Prior to us moving, we lived in Costa Rica where we did not earn taxable income. We have lived in CA for a little more than 5 months. I am paying for her tuition(leftover after subsidized loans), her cost of living(all basic necessities and more) and her books. Can I claim her as a dependent? Am I only eligible as a Head of Household? What is my best course of action to reduce my taxable income?

Massmilwaukee,

For head of household, you must answer these questions as indicated.
- Will that person provide more than half of their own support? NO
- Will that person file a joint return? NO
- Will that person be a US Citizen? YES
- Will that person live in your home for more than 6 months? YES
- Is that person a relative? YES
- Is that person a qualifying child of another taxpayer? NO
- Will that person's gross income be less than $3,200? YES
- Will you claim that person as a dependent? YES

If you can answer these questions as indicated, you can file as Head of Household.

It is too late for 2005, but once you are married you can claim your wife as a dependent, and file as Married Filing Jointly, and maybe have a bunch more tax benefits.

Mr. Wolf,

Thank you sir. You are correct in stating your previous answers and according to that test, I do pass, but according to: http://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/hoh/selftest/Index.html, I do not pass the head of household test because I am not related in the blood/legal sense. Do you know if this matters?

I appreciate your time.

Just a quick question for you, massmilwaukee. You say that you would pass the HOH test, but how would you get past the question of "Is that person a relative." I would think that the IRS would argue that in their eyes you're not a relative until you are officially married. Just my .02

Massmilwaukee,

Yes it does matter.

VATechhokies beat me to this one, and I did check to see if I had that Relative question on the list, and with the right answer.
Also, it is quite likely your fiancee is a qualifying child for another tax payer, perhaps parent.

I doubt you could claim your fiancee as a dependent. There is no blood relationship, and the fiancee was not placed in your home by an authorized adoption agency. And most likely the parents would have a higher claim on dependency. And perhaps age could be an issue, if your fiancee is over age 23, you can not claim the dependency. And since the fiancee is pursuing a law degeree, the undergraduate work is likely completed..

You have not provided all of the facts, and in a forum such as this it is difficult to do that.

Marriage erases a lot of the questions to gain some tax advantges.

Hi all,

My fiancee had no job last year, was a full-time students, is not yet 23, and will not be listed as a dependent elsewhere. I covered (well) over half of the expenses for our house so it would seem I qualify as "head of household." Does the dependent have to be a relative? It seems rather gray.

Thanks for all your help.
-S.tone

Hi,
You have a choice for that situation if you think you can no longer handle shouldering some of her expenses then tell her and decide on what is best for both of you. One note if your already feeling that she's being dependent on you then talk to her about it.