To qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit, you generally need to have earned income. Earned income includes wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee compensation, as well as net earnings from self-employment
However, there are exceptions. If you or your spouse were full-time students or disabled, you can still qualify for the credit even without earned income
In your case, since you were laid off and actively looking for work, you might not meet the earned income requirement unless you had some form of taxable compensation during that period.
Here are some steps you can take to help ensure TurboTax stops asking you to review.
- Log into TurboTax
- Review your income entries: under the Income Tab in TurboTax. Help ensure all sources of earned income are correctly entered.
- On the Did you pay for child and dependent care? screen, select Yes, answer the questions on the next screen, and continue.
- Review the "Tell Us More About Barbara and Your Spouse" screen: When you reach this section, make sure to select the appropriate options for both you and your spouse. If either of you is a full-time student or disabled, this should be indicated.
