Dependent, Child Care Expenses Tax Credit

You can no longer e-file 2020 Tax Returns; the tool on this page is only for Tax Year 2020, not the current tax year, and will help you plan to file your 2020 Return; 2020 Tax Forms and Calculators. Attention: You can claim 2020 tax refunds until April 15, 204 by filing a return, after that date the refund would expire.

For current tax year taxes, use these calculators and tools for the current tax year before you e-file your current year return: eFileIT.

Review information on current tax year Child Care Dependent Credit.

2020 Child
Care
Tax Credit

If you had to pay someone to care for your child, dependent, or spouse so you could work, look for work, go to school, or because of a disability, then the Child and Dependent Care Credit may be for you. Note: this tax credit is not the same as the Child Tax Credit.

Tax Credit for Dependent, Child Care

You will generally qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit if you meet all of the following conditions:

You must have earned income, such as wages from a job. If you are married and filing a joint tax return, your spouse must also have earned income.
Your filing status is Single, Married Filing Jointly, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er) with a Dependent Child.
You (and your spouse if married filing jointly) earned income from employment or self-employment. You are exempt from this requirement if you were a full-time student or disabled.
You paid someone to provide care for a qualifying person and the care provider was not someone you could claim as a dependent, the parent of your qualifying person, your spouse, or your child under the age of 19 (regardless of whether they are a dependent).
You had to pay for child or dependent care so that you (and your spouse if married filing jointly) could work, seek employment, attend school, or if you were disabled.
Note: The cost of sending kids to day camp in the summer counts toward the Child and Dependent Care Credit; overnight camps don't count.

Who Is a qualifying person?

A qualifying person for the Child and Dependent Care Credit can be either of the following:

Any child who is your dependent and was under age 13 when the care was provided, or
Your spouse or dependent age 13 or over, if physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves.

In addition, the qualifying person must have lived with you for more than half of the year. There are exceptions for a qualifying person who was born or died during the year and for a child of divorced or separated parents.

Child and Dependent Care Credit Value

The Child and Dependent Care Credit can be worth from 20% to 35% of some or all of the dependent care expenses you paid. The percentage you use depends on your income. If your income is below $15,000, you will qualify for the full 35%. The percentage falls by 1% for every additional $2,000 of income until it reaches 20% (for an income of $43,000 or more).
The 20%-35% is taken from up to $3,000 of expenses paid for one qualifying person, or from up to $6,000 of expenses paid for two or more qualifying persons. Therefore, the maximum CDCC is worth $2,100 (based on 2 or more dependents and $6,000 or more of qualifying expenses).
Before figuring the credit, you must reduce your qualifying expenses by any amount of child or dependent care benefits that were provided by your employer and that you deducted or excluded from your income. On eFile.com, we will help you calculate this. Dependent care assistance from an employer does not count towards this credit because it already reduces your taxable income. Currently, taxpayers can exclude a maximum amount of $5,000 or $2,500 if filing single or separate from their income as it is reported on the W-2 they receive.
The Child and Dependent Care Credit is not refundable, so it is not worth anything if you owe no income tax.

Learn more in Child and Dependent Care Expenses in Publication 503; Publication 972 give you more in-depth overview of the Child Tax Credit and more.

How to Claim the Dependent, Child Care Tax Credit

To claim the 2020 Credit, you will need to fill in and include Form 2441 when you mail in your return.

eFile.com makes it easy for you to claim the CDCC on your current year tax return. Once you enter your childcare expenses for your dependent, we will prepare the appropriate form for you and your completed return will then include the 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses - eFileIT.

When you provide the information for the credit, you must include the Social Security Number (SSN) of each qualifying person in order to claim the credit. Additionally, provide the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of your child or dependent care provider.

If you cannot obtain or are missing the social security number or other taxpayer identifying number of a child care provider, you can still claim the credit by demonstrating "due diligence" in attempting to get this information. Or, if a provider of childcare refuses to give you the identifying information, you can still claim the credit. If you need special instructions for this when preparing your return on eFile.com, contact us and we can assist you.

Did Somebody Claim Your Dependent?

A qualifying person for the Child and Dependent Care Credit may only be claimed on one tax return. If a dependent is claimed on more than one tax return (for example, a child is claimed by both divorced parents), then the IRS will apply a set of tiebreaker rules to see who gets to claim the dependent.

See what other tax credits and tax deductions may be available to you.

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