Can I use child tax care tax credit before starting grad school?

[melia-fonoimoana]

I am starting grad school in August and will be a full time student for five months. I am a stay at home mom, so until then I will not have any earned income. I am married, we file jointly, and my husband has earned income. I have started working with my chair professor to collect data through focus groups since I was accepted and will continue to do so throughout the summer. When I start the program, this type of research will be paid as a research assistant. As I am not a student yet, this time is considered voluntary and does not have earned income. However, it is directly related to the work I will be doing as a research assistant and as a full time grad student. I have been paying for child care during these times. I am wondering if I will be able to apply these child care costs I am accruing before starting grad school.

[LenaH]

No. You would have had to be a full-time student for more than 6 months to qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit for 2020. 

To qualify for the credit, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• You (and your spouse, if filing jointly) must have earned income.
  • The earned income requirement for one spouse is waived if s/he was a full-time student or disabled (if they lived with your spouse for more than 6 months in 2020).
• You paid caregiving expenses so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) could work or look for work.
  • The work/look for work requirement for one spouse is waived if s/he was a full-time student or disabled (if they lived with the other spouse for more than 6 months in 2020).
• You paid a caregiver to care for a Qualifying Person. The caregiver can't be:
  • Your spouse
  • Your dependent
  • Your child if they were under 19 on the last day of 2020, even if not your dependent
  • The parent of the Qualifying Person, if the Qualifying Person is your child under the age of 13 during 2020
• You can't file with the Married Filing Separately filing status (except under certain circumstances).
• You must furnish the care provider's name, address, and (unless it's a tax-exempt organization) their SSN, ITIN, or EIN on your return.

What is the Child and Dependent Care Credit?

[melia-fonoimoana]

From what I understand, you only need to be a full time student for five months of the year. That's what it says on these articles 

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p503#en_US_2020_publink[phone number removed]

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/family/deducting-summer-camps-and-daycare-with-the-child-and-de...

https://www.hrblock.com/tax-center/filing/credits/child-and-dependent-care-credit/

[KrisD15]

Below is what the IRS states. TECHNICALLY you would not be able to use the time you are not being paid and also not a student. 

I suggest you find out from the school if you are considered a student when performing the focus group work. 

According to the IRS:

“Full-time student. You are a full-time student if you are enrolled at a school for the number of hours or classes that the school considers full-time. You must have been a full-time student for some part of each of 5 calendar months during the year. (The months need not be consecutive.) School. The term “school” includes high schools, colleges, universities, and technical, trade, and mechanical schools. A school doesn't include an on-the-job training course, correspondence school, or school offering courses only through the Internet. “

“Volunteer work. For this purpose, you aren't considered to be working if you do unpaid volunteer work or volunteer work for a nominal salary.”

IRS Pub 503

[melia-fonoimoana]

What about the times where I was taking and studying for the GRE, doing interviews for grad school programs, stuff like that? Would that be considered looking for work?

[JohnW152]

From what you're describing, these wouldn't be considered "looking for work."

Please see the IRS's Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses for more information.