You are only allowed to claim the expense that you paid out of pocket. The maximum amount of child care expenses that can be included per child is $3,000; so. if you've used $3,000 in free funds to pay for care you will not qualify to claim the credit. If you haven't used free money to pay for $3,000 in benefits per child, then you will qualify to claim a credit for the portion of care you paid out of pocket.