Yes, if he lived with you for more than half the year and did not live with either parent for more than half the year. Live with doesn't mean a residence owned or rented by the taxpayer. In only means they lived in the same place. For example, if your sister lived with you, for a while, that time would count as time the child lived with both of you.
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 and a relationship and residency requirement. The amount of support you provided is NOT the determining factor for a QC. Only a QC qualifies you for the Earned Income Credit and the
Child Tax Credit.
A child closely related (aunt/uncle is )to a taxpayer can be a “Qualifying Child
(QC)” dependent, regardless of the child's
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
3.
He lived with
the relative (including temporary absences) for more than half the year
4.
He is younger
than the relative (not applicable for a disabled child)
5.
If the child meets the rules to be a
qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to
claim the child as a qualifying child (this essentially means that you have the
parent’s permission to claim the child unless the child lived with his parent less than half the year)
6.
If the parents of a child can claim the child as a
qualifying child but no parent so claims the child, no one else can claim the
child as a qualifying child unless that person's adjusted gross income (AGI) is
higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the
child.
