If I have legal custody of a non relative Child And He has lived in my home since March, can I claim him as a dependent on my taxes? Will I Be Eligible for EIC?

[DoninGA]

To be able to claim a non-relative individual as a dependent they must lived in your home for the entire year as described in the Qualifying Relative rules.  If they did not live in your home for a year then you cannot claim them as a dependent.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household. 

3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,050 (social security does not count) in 2016

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.

6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse.

[SweetieJean]

A nonrelative cannot qualify you for EIC.

[Hal_Al]

No. A non relative must live with you all year to be a dependent.

No. A child, who is a dependent, must also  be related to you, to be a "Qualifying Child" for EIC, the Child Tax credit, day care credit and Head of Household filing status.

You say you have "legal custody"? It depends on what that means. A "foster Child' is considered to be related. A foster child is a child placed in your home by a court order or government agency.

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. Only a QC qualifies the taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit, the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

A QC only needs to live with you for more than half the year to be your QC dependent.