I assume that you did not also live with the friend that your child lived with.
The friend cannot claim the child because they are not related and did not live together all year.
You cannot claim your child under the qualifying child rules because he/she did not live with you for more than half the year. We then look to see if you can claim him/her under the Qualifying relative rules.
- Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year. Note that he did not have to live with you at all, since you are closely related.
- His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4700 (2023) ($4400 for 2022).
- The taxpayer (you) must have provided more than 1/2 his support. That maybe unlikely if he was living with someone else.*
- He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
- He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
- He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer
*The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf The support value of a home is the fair market rental value, divided by the number of occupants.
