I assumed this was always the case. I almost claimed my GF last year but she barely made over the limit of income. Why do you consider this a loophole? If you pay for 50%+ of someones expenses, should you not be able to claim them as a dependent and catch a break on taxes?
So what i gather from this is that i can claim my girlfriend as a dependent whether i file single or HoH, correct?
Do I claim HoH and one dependent or just HoH and no dependents?
My opinion of the loophole is that an adult of age that is not going to school, who is not a relative should not be able to be claimed as a dependant.
This allows anyone to setup a location and claim unworking adults or those with unreported income as dependants.
Setup a tent city/soup kitchen and if you have a $100K income, take your taxable income to close to zero by claiming a dozen "homeless". If they have young kids, so much the better. All you need is their SS#. rotate every two years to avoid audit verification by the IRS.
One would get the charity write off for the shelter/kitchen, the dependant credits and and child credits that could apply.
On to your question.
Based on the IRS guidelines, you can claim her as an dependant and then file as HoH.
Singles can not claim dependants and to file HoH you need a dependant.