topic If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do in Deductions & credits

If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

daytonvega98 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:52:14 GMT

This has been doing this for years and I just let it go but this year I need it

Re: If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

xmasbaby0 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 22:54:26 GMT

How old is your child?

You will not get the childcare credit until (unless) you enter income earned from working. The credit does not work unless you enter your income first. If you are filing a joint return you must show income for both spouses, or show that one or both of you was a student or disabled. If you have self-employment income and show a loss you will not get the childcare credit. You will not get the credit if you are filing married filing separately.

If you have entered all of your income and you have entered your dependent(s) then work on the childcare credit by entering the Tax ID or Social Security number of your childcare provider and enter the amount you paid for the childcare.

One of the most common mistakes that messes up the childcare credit for people is listing all of the earned income under only one name on a joint return. Make very sure that your incomes are listed under each of your names. It’s pretty easy to check. Go to the Income section, and click “update” on Wages and Salary. That will take you to the W-2 Summary. Do you see income listed under both of your names?

The person receiving the care had to be 12 or under or qualified as mentally or physically disabled. To claim the childcare credit you need to be filing as Head of Household or Married Filing Jointly. (NOT married filing separately)

If your child was born in 2025 make sure you say the child lived with you all year. The credit is a percentage of your expenses based on your AGI (the higher the income, the lower the percentage) You must provide the Social Security number for each child you are claiming, and the Social Security number or Tax ID for each care provider.

In the case of divorced or never-married parents—only the custodial parent can use the childcare credit.

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/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-dependent-care-credit/L8h8A5Klg_US_en_US?uid=m5yifys1

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/the-ins-and-outs-of-the-child-and-dependent-care-tax-credit/L2H7rzUWc

Re: If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

hhttt — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:15:49 GMT

I am having the same issue. Both spouses have earned income. Child is 3. Money paid to provider. Positive AGI and tax owed. System STILL says we do not qualify for the credit?!?!?!!?

Re: If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

Vanessa A — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:20:39 GMT

Go back and double check to be sure that a W-2 is assigned to each of you. Many times when you are told you do not qualify when you actually do it is because both W-2's are listed for one person so the other person does not have earned income per the system.

To do this select Income>>W-2's and then look to see if you each have your name by one.

Re: If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

hhttt — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:45:15 GMT

Thanks. Both had w-2 earnings, but one also had a farm loss. That was the problem. I reassigned the farm loss to the larger w-2 earner and it is now working. Thanks.

Re: If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

dan_hyman — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 07:20:39 GMT

This is the first year TurboTax is NOT correctly providing us our Child Care Credit.

Married filing jointly: Check

Each person has a sufficiently large W2 to pay more taxes than the credit: Check

W2s assigned correctly and entered manually to avoid import problems: Check

Actual taxes paid so credit applies: Check

Ran through IRS site and answered all of their questions to ensure we qualify: Check

Worked perfectly with nearly identical entries last year: Check

Who broke TurboTax 2025, and why?

This is Home & Business desktop from web download direct from Intuit, same as always. No web cookie cache issues possible. Usually when there is a problem with TurboTax, we can bop over to the VIEW FORMS and clear it up by hand. No bueno here, as they just ask the same questions on the official forms and vomit the wrong answer. How do we elevate to the technical team? I have read all of the A.I. generated generic "have you plugged in your computer" basics (see above) and nobody has an answer to solve this.

Dr. Dan.

Re: If it’s saying I don’t qualify for child care credit but I should what do I do

Vanessa A — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:51:31 GMT

What is the exact error that you are getting?