Person who I claim as a dependent but doesn’t live with us (court ordered-dependent) is now being paid by us to watch younger sister can I claim the child tax credit for the money paid to her?

[Laceym18]

• Oldest stepdaughter does not live with us, but in the court order, we are allowed to claim her on our taxes. She just started working a part-time job (1-2x per week 4 -6 hr shifts-California minimum wage) and does not make a lot. She has also just started watching our youngest daughter, her baby sister, and we are going to be paying her for it. Because we claim her on our taxes, am I able to claim the child tax credit for the money that I am paying her, even though she is being claimed by us?
  

[xmasbaby0]

No.   You are asking about the childcare credit (not the child tax credit).     You cannot enter the child and dependent care credit if your childcare provider is claimed as a dependent on your tax return; whether that dependent lives with you is irrelevant.

[Opus 17]

You can't claim the child care credit if the care provider is also your dependent.