Support test for potential dependent, how to calculate housing costs when no mortgage/rent

My gf lives in a house that is owned outright by different trusts. She doesn't pay anything to the trusts to live in the home. She is currently looking for another job. She'll most likely find one by the end of the year, but in the unlikely scenario she doesn't find another job this year, she will meet the income test. I have essentially moved in late last year as well so that test should be met.

The question then turns to the support test. I assume the way it will be calculated is to come up with a market rent for the house and if she lived there by herself the amount of housing "support" she receives is equal to the comparable market rent times 12 months. But if I'm also living in the house, does that amount of support flowing to her get divided by 2? So to meet the 50% support test, if the market rent for a year is reasonably deemed to be $12,000, with me living there would it be $6,000 support she gets from the trusts?

Reply to
xyzer
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  1. If you are asking about 2015, fuhgetaboutit. You fail the relationship test as your GF, an unrelated person, did not live with you for the entire year.
  2. In 2016, assuming you cohabitate in the house for all 365 days and your GF's taxable gross income is less than the amount of the 2016 personal exemption and you provide more than half of her total support, and she is not the qualifying child of another taxpayer, you could claim her as a dependent if you provide more than half of her total support. Lodging cost to be included in total support would include the fair rental value (FRV) of the property divided by two. If neither of you are paying for utilities, repairs and insurance on the house then the FRV would need to include an element for those items. If you are paying for any of those, then they get divided by two also.
Reply to
Alan

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