Yes,
You can claim Foster children as a dependents as long as they are placed in your care
by a placement agency, court order, or any government agency.
Five tests
must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:
- Relationship
- Age
- Residency
- Support
- Joint return
In your case as long as you were ordered by a government
agency to care for the child(ren) you have passed the Relationship test,
The Age
requirements are as follows
- Under
age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if
filing jointly),
- A
student under age 24 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your
spouse, if filing jointly), or
- Permanently
and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.
The
Residency requirement is also met because the child was under your care
and financial support for more than half of the year.
To meet the Support test the child cannot provide more than half of her
support for the period in question.
The IRS Rules for Personal Exemptions and Dependents are very
detailed. To view the rules and tests for dependency please click on the
following link:
IRS
Personal Exemptions and Dependents
Here you will be able to view in detail every specific aspect
which may apply to you’re the status of your Personal exemptions and
Dependents.
