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Tax Time!

Not true.

IRC (internal Revenue Code) 152(a) states that an individual will be considered a dependent if they satisfy either the "qualifying child" or the "qualifying relative" requirement.

Qualifying child is defined as having relationship, age, principal place of abode and support.

Relationship- must be a son, daughter,stepchild or descendent of shuch child or a brother, sister, stepbrother/sister or descendent of such relative

Age- child must not have attained the age of 19 by the end of the calendar year or must be a student that has not attained the age of 24 by the end of the calendar year.

Principal place of abode-must have the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more the 1/2 of the year

Support-the child must not provide more then 1/2 of their own support for the year


more to come
 
Qualifying Relative Definition (anyone else not qualifying as a qualifying child)

Relationship
brother, sister, stepbrother/sister
father, mother or ancestor (i.e. grandparent)
stepfather or stepmother
son or daughter of a brother or sister
son-in law, daughter in-law, father in law, mother in law, brother/sister in law

Gross income- individual must have less then $3,500 gross income

Support- 1/2 of the dependents support must come from the taxpayer

Dependency-must not be a qualifying dependent of anyone else (including themselves)
 
There is general out for someone unrelated that is a "member of your household" but they must live with you for the whole year and it is very difficult to prove and extremely scrutinized. this allows you to bypass the relationship test above but you still must meet the gross income, support and dependency tests.
 
you might want to take it up with TurboTax, because they have it all over their website. There are other sources on the web that say the same.

http://turbotaxblog.typepad.com/turbotax_blog/2009/02/can-i-claim-my-girlfriend-as-a-dependent-.html

Can I Claim my Girlfriend as a Dependent?

This is one of the top questions we are seeing on TurboTax’s Live Community. Here’s the answer.

If your girlfriend has lived with you for all of 2008, her gross income is less than $3,500, and you’ve provided more than half of her total support, you could claim her as a dependent on your tax return. To determine if you pay for more than half of her support, see IRS Pub 17, page 33, support worksheet http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf . Each dependent you claim on your 2008 tax return reduces your income by up to $3,500.

If she files a tax return, she would have to answer “yes” to the question “Are you being claimed as a dependent on anyone’s tax return?” Note: You can’t claim her as a dependent if living together is in violation of your local law.
 
Oh and BTW. Yes I am a tax specialist but I no longer focus much on individual taxes (but my own). When I did do individual taxes my focus was on extremely wealthy individuals who were phased out of many of the one off and oddball credits.

Beware of relying on any off the shelf software to tell you what you should and shouldn't take. Tax can be a complicated area and I have seen many people get into trouble relying on the output from software. If you have a complicated issue spend the money and talk to a professional. You have the ultimate liability for anything that is on your tax return once you sign it, regardless of who or what prepares it for you.
 
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