It depends. There are several criteria that must be met in order to claim your child for either the Child Tax Credit or Other Dependent Tax Credit, as @DoninGA noted.
What is a “qualifying child” for purposes of the Child Tax Credit?
You can only claim the Child Tax Credit if you have a “qualifying child.” To qualify, a child generally has to pass the following eight tests:
1. Age test. Your child has to be 16 or younger at the end of the tax year to qualify for the Child Tax Credit. Since it’s the child’s age on December 31 that matters, a kid that turns 17 or older at any time during the year isn’t a qualifying child for purposes of the credit.
On the other hand, a child that’s born (or adopted) at any time during the tax year – even if it’s at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 – can be a qualifying child for the year if all the other tests are met.
2. Relationship test. A child generally has to be either your:
- biological child
- stepchild
- adopted child
- foster child
- sibling (including a stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister)
However, a qualifying child can also be a descendant of one of the above (such as a grandchild, niece, or nephew).
3. Dependency test. The child must be claimed as a dependent on your tax return to be a qualifying child. Simply being able to claim the child as a dependent isn’t enough – you must actually do it.
If a child’s parents are divorced or separated, the custodial parent is usually the one who claims the child as a dependent. However, the non-custodial parent can claim the child as a dependent in certain cases (see below for more information).
4. Financial support test. A qualifying child can’t provide more than half of their own financial support for the tax year.
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) payments or similar assistance used to support a child don’t count when determining if the child provided more than half of their own support. The same is true for money you receive from the government or a placement agency for a foster child’s support.
On the other hand, if a child receives Social Security benefits and uses them toward their own support, the benefits are treated as if they’re provided by the child.
5. Residency test. A child generally has to live with you for more than half of the tax year to be a qualifying child for Child Tax Credit purposes. However, there are a few exceptions to this requirement that apply in certain situations.
See this tax tips article for more information.
A child that doesn't qualify under the age requirement might still qualify for the Other Dependent Credit. See this article for more information.
@tony
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