Location

• If the parents are divorced, the parent who is claiming the child on a tax return as a dependent is the parent with the right to claim the Child Tax Credit. The Internal Revenue Service requires the child to have been in the filing parents home and care for at least half the year.
  
  

Age

• A qualifying child must be under the age of 17. The child cannot provide more than half of his own support.
  
  

Relationship

• The IRS states, "To claim a child for purposes of the Child Tax Credit, they must either be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of any of these individuals, which includes your grandchild, niece or nephew. An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption."
  
  A divorce involving stepchildren who were in the filing parent's care for more than half of the year would allow that step parent to claim the child on a tax return for that year.
  
  

Limits

• There is a limit to the amount of the credit if the filing parent's gross income is above a certain dollar amount. Married parents in the process of divorcing and filing separately would begin the phase-out at $55,000 income. Single, already divorced filing parents would begin the phase-out at $75,000.
  
  

Additional Child Tax Credit

• If the amount of the Child Tax Credit exceeds the amount of tax owed by the filing parent, it is possible the Additional Child Tax Credit may be claimed. This credit will cover any amount of the Child Tax Credit that has not been received.