There is such a rule (that the child must be your dependent). There are a couple of exceptions, which may be leading you astray; as you don't qualify for either:
1. the previously mentioned divorced parents special rule
2. if the child is not a dependent only because he provided more than half his own support, he still qualifies the parent (taxpayer) for EIC.
The only box in TT that you can check, to get the EIC, is the one that says you can't be claimed as a dependent. But, as previously explained, that's not allowed. So, that would be tax fraud. The IRS is particularly tough on EIC tax fraud.
