Further.....you say that you received the childcare credit for several past tax years when you did not work. I wonder if you are confusing the childcare credit with the child tax credit. Unless you said you were a student, or said that you were disabled, not sure how you managed to get the childcare credit. You have to show positive income from both parents, or show that you were a student or that you were disabled.
The childcare credit you get is going to be based on the lower of the two incomes entered for the parents---so your childcare credit will be low if your income was low.
And remember that the childcare credit is a NON-refundable credit. It can reduce your tax owed down to zero, but it is not added to your refund.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900643-what-is-the-child-and-dependent-care-credit
https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-eligible-to-claim-the-child-and-dependent-care-credit
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
