You must have misunderstood the question. There is one case that a non-related child can be claimed and that would be you were not required to file a tax return at all. If you were required to file then the child would be your qualifying child and cannot be claimed by any non-related person even if all the other requirements are met.
See IRS Pub 17 "Qualifying relative". The first test that must be met is "Not Qualifying Child".
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2016_publink1000170933">https://www.irs.gov/pub...>
There are several examples including:
"Child of person not required to file a return. A child isn't the qualifying child of any other taxpayer and so may qualify as your qualifying relative if the child's parent (or other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) isn't required to file an income tax return and either:
- Doesn't file an income tax return, or
- Files a return only to get a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid."
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
