topic My home daycare did not make enough to file taxes for her business, she is saying because of this I can't deduct child care credit on my taxes. Is this correct? in Deductions & credits

My home daycare did not make enough to file taxes for her business, she is saying because of this I can't deduct child care credit on my taxes. Is this correct?

lvandyke24 — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 23:03:31 GMT

If you paid for care, you must provide the care provider'...

Opus 17 — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 23:03:32 GMT

If you paid for care, you must provide the care provider's tax ID number, that is either her personal social security number or a business tax ID number (anyone can get one if they don't want to reveal their personal SSN.)

Whether or not the care provider then reports and pays income tax is between the and the IRS, it's not your business. But usually, if you report care expense, the IRS will check their return to make sure they report matching income. That's why you need a SSN.

You can claim the credit without an SSN but you can't e-file, and you must attach a written statement identifying the provider and explaining that they refused to give you their tax number, which will pretty much guarantee the provider gets audited.

And sorry, if the care was provided in YOUR home, then th...

Opus 17 — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 23:03:33 GMT

And sorry, if the care was provided in YOUR home, then the provider is probably your household employee and you must give them a W-2. And even if the amount is less than the requirement to withhold and pay household employee taxes on your return, or give a W-2, you still have to use their SSN on your tax return to claim the credit and they still have to report the income on their tax return.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p926.pdf