Why is the Child Care Credit not showing up on my return?
There are a few reasons why the Child Care Credit (Dependent Care Credit) might not show on your return.
First of all, there are two sections to the Child Care Credit. The first section gathers the information about the child care provider. In the second section, you enter the amount of daycare expenses paid for each child. It is the second section that the software uses to calculate the credit, so make sure you have entered the child care expenses for each child.
Another reason might be if you had dependent care benefits taken out of your wages. Those amounts will be in Box 10 of your W-2, and will reduce the amount of child care expenses available for the credit.
Another possibility occurs if your tax is already zero before considering any credits. The Dependent Care Credit isn't a refundable credit. So, if your tax is already zero, then the credit is zero.
Finally, if you are married, take another look to make sure you and your spouse have your earned income entered correctly. Generally, both spouses must have earned income (which consists of wages and self-employment income) to qualify for the child care credit. If only one spouse has earned income and the other one does not have wages or self-employment income, then the Child Care Credit is not available. The credit is limited to spousal earnings.
First of all, there are two sections to the Child Care Credit. The first section gathers the information about the child care provider. In the second section, you enter the amount of daycare expenses paid for each child. It is the second section that the software uses to calculate the credit, so make sure you have entered the child care expenses for each child.
Another reason might be if you had dependent care benefits taken out of your wages. Those amounts will be in Box 10 of your W-2, and will reduce the amount of child care expenses available for the credit.
Another possibility occurs if your tax is already zero before considering any credits. The Dependent Care Credit isn't a refundable credit. So, if your tax is already zero, then the credit is zero.
Finally, if you are married, take another look to make sure you and your spouse have your earned income entered correctly. Generally, both spouses must have earned income (which consists of wages and self-employment income) to qualify for the child care credit. If only one spouse has earned income and the other one does not have wages or self-employment income, then the Child Care Credit is not available. The credit is limited to spousal earnings.
