Do I need to claim Dependent care benefits for a flex plan that I contributed to, but my employer did not pay that back.

[andream610]

I put 5,000 in to my Flex account for child care and paid my daycare provider directly but my employer never contributes to that amount.

[MinhT1]

If you use funds from your FSA (and no other personal funds) to pay your daycare provider, then you can't claim the dependent care credit as your FSA contributions are already excluded from taxation. This is the case even if your employer did not contribute to the FSA.

Please read this IRS publication for more information.

[Opus 17]

You must report the FSA on your tax return because it is reported in box 10 of your W-2. You must report the amount you were reimbursed for care expenses, the amount of your qualifying expenses (including the name of your qualifying dependent and the name and tax number of the care provider) and any amount that was left over in the account and either carried over to the next year or forfeit.   If you don't report your expenses, it will automatically be added back to your taxable income.