Can you claim a runaway child on your taxes?

If they qualify as your dependent, sure.

kidnappedd, yes; runaway, no.

Not unless you support it. I suspect a runaway is on its own. You can claim a kidnapped child.

if the child qualifies and lived six months in your home as well as he has not provided more than 50% of his support, yes

a

If it is your child under legal age who is not claimed by another guardian, then you can

If the child lived with you at least 6 months of 2016 and met the other dependency requirements, yes. If the child has not returned in 2017 you will not be able to claim them for that year.

Is this your child? When did he or she run away? Or are you harboring a runaway?

IF it's your child and it lived in your home for more than half of 2016, meets the age test and didn't provide more than half of their own support then you can claim them as if they were still at home.

If you are harboring a runaway you cannot claim the child since the child is more than likely the Qualifying Child of someone else. Even if the child lived in your home for the entire year and would not be the Qualifying Child of anyone else, harboring a runaway is illegal and you cannot benefit from an illegal act.

You have to prove you are taking care of the child. Birth certificate, schooling, medical care, whole nine yards. If this is a tax attempt, you will get audited at some point so be prepared to show how you care for this kid. This is called "guardianship".

You didn't give enough information for anyone to say.

Is it YOUR child? Are you financially supporting the child? Does the child live with you? How old is the child? Is someone else qualified to claim the child?