I have a child who lives in Canada with his mother. I have been paying child support since he was born. Can I claim him as a dependent?

[pierrelgordon]

He lives in British Columbia, but I heard in the States that there is a law that would allow me to claim him as a dependent on my tax return.

[DoninGA]

Child support is not reported on a tax return.  

If the child spends over 6 months of the year in the home of the other parent, you cannot claim the child as a dependent on your tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

Paying child support is not relevant--you cannot enter anything about child support on your tax return.  And...the IRS only cares about physical custody---which is clearly held by the mother in Canada.  Sorry.

[KrisD15 · Accepted solution]

It is possible.

You could claim the child as your dependent IF the child earned less than 5,200 and you supplied more than half the child's support.

According to the IRS:

Child in Canada or Mexico. You may be able to claim your child as a dependent even if the child lives in Canada or Mexico. If the child doesn't live with you, the child doesn't meet the residency test to be your qualifying child. However, the child may still be your qualifying relative. If the persons the child does live with aren't U.S. citizens and have no U.S. gross income, those persons aren't “taxpayers,” so the child isn't the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. If the child isn't the qualifying child of any other taxpayer, the child is your qualifying relative as long as the gross income test and the support test are met.

The child's gross income for the year must have been less than $5,200 AND 
YOU must have provided more than half of the child's total support for the tax year.

@pierrelgordon