in order to claim fosterchild on your tax return do they have to live in home 12 months
Report Abuse. It is true that a dependent may not have to live with you. However, to get the most tax benefits for a dependent child, the child must live with you for more than six months. You can never claim an unrelated person who does not live with you, even if you support the person.ou cannot claim a person who is a qualifying child of another person and does not live with you. However, if the person is a relative and there is no one who can claim the person as a qualifying child, then you may be able to claim the person as a qualifying relative even if the person does not live with you.