No. Nothing you described allows you to claim them as dependents. What you paid is essentially not relevant.
There
are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying
Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be
related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, a relationship test and a residence test. For a QC, there is no requirement that you supported the child.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
1. He is under age 19, or under 24
if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally &
permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are
considered third party support and not as support provided by the student. Note that it's not how much support YOU provided; only ho much support did the child provide.
3. He lived with the parent
(including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half
the year. So, if the child normally lives with the other parent (or any other person), and not you, he cannot be your QC.
A person can still be a Qualifying
relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for
claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live
with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,000 (2015)
3. The taxpayer must have
provided more than 1/2 his support
In either case:
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada
or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint
return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the
qualifying child of another taxpayer. So, even if you provided more than half his support, you cannot claim him if he qualifies as the QC of another taxpayer.
