I understand the 6 month, however, I also found this:
Source: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17#en_US_2020_publink10008407
Note the "exceptions" section posted in Red. It would seem to me this indicates that 5 months in one home for an 8 month old (at the end of the year) qualifies the child for the residency portion of the CTC.
Am I reading the IRS site wrong?
<<<<<<<<<<< From the above site >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Child Tax Credit (CTC)
The CTC is for individuals who claim a child as a dependent if the child meets additional conditions (described later).
Note.
This credit is different from and in addition to the credit for child and dependent care expenses and the earned income credit that you may also be eligible to claim.
The maximum amount you can claim for the credit is $2,000 for each child who qualifies you for the CTC. But, see Limits on the CTC and ODC , later.
For more information about claiming the CTC, see Claiming the CTC and ODC , later.
Qualifying Child for the CTC
A child qualifies you for the CTC if the child meets all of the following conditions.
- The child is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew).
- The child was under age 17 at the end of 2020.
- The child didn’t provide over half of his or her own support for 2020.
- The child lived with you for more than half of 2020 (see Exceptions to time lived with you , later).
- The child is claimed as a dependent on your return. See chapter 3 for more information about claiming someone as a dependent.
- The child doesn’t file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).
- The child was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. For more information, see Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens. If the child was adopted, see Adopted child , later.
Example.
Your son turned 17 on December 30, 2020. He is a citizen of the United States and you claimed him as a dependent on your return. You can't use him to claim the CTC because he was not under age 17 at the end of 2020.
If your child is age 17 or older at the end of 2020, see Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), later..
Adopted child.
An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.
If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and your adopted child lived with you all year as a member of your household in 2020, that child meets condition (7), earlier, to be a qualifying child for the child tax credit (or condition (3), later, to be a qualifying person for the ODC).
Exceptions to time lived with you.
A child is considered to have lived with you for more than half of 2020 if the child was born or died in 2020 and your home was this child's home for more than half the time he or she was alive. Temporary absences by you or the child for special circumstances, such as school, vacation, business, medical care, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility, count as time the child lived with you.
There are also exceptions for kidnapped children and children of divorced or separated parents. For details, see Residency Test in chapter 3.
