Did you list your spouse as a full-time student for all 12 months? If so, your spouse's earned income is assumed to be $3,000 (Since I assume that the actual W-2 of $925 is ignored in this case).
On line 6 of the 2441, you should enter the smaller of the care expenses (in your case, no more than $3,000), your earned income ($80,000), and your spouse's earned income ($3,000).
Line 8 should be 35% (from the table on the form).
Line 9 should be $1,050 for your actual credit.
Did I describe your situation accurately?
"we do qualify for up to $3k in credits. " I don't see how the Interactive Assistant could have said this, with the information as I understand it. Let me know if I got something wrong.
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