<prompt> Human: Hello rpersonlfinance, I have a quick question. My fiancee and I are expecting a new baby in October. Will we be able to claim the child as a dependent in spring 2018 when we file 2017 taxes? She said she was told by her tax guy that the baby had to be born for at least half of the year to qualify as a dependent. I tried googling but didnt find anything to confirm that. Could someone clarify this? At what point can we claim the child as a dependent? If possible, could you point me at a source? Thank you in advance for the help!  <response>: Lots of comments on this. Just one clarification. If you are not married in 2017, only one of you, not we can claim the child as a dependent. Generally, you are better off if the person with the higher income claims the child, and they would also be eligible for Head of Household filing status. 