Do I have to claim child care expenses?

[danielle-s]

By me adding the 8,000.00 that I paid in child care it reduces my tax return by over half. Do I absolutly have to add in the expenses?

[Coleen3]

You are not required to include any child care expenses you paid unless they are on your W-2 Box 10. Normally if there were no employer contributions and you paid the entire amount yourself, you would receive a credit of up to $600 per child.

Box 10 of your W-2 shows the total amount of dependent care benefits that your employer paid to you or incurred on your behalf. Amounts over $5,000 ($2,500 in the case of a separate return filed by a married individual) are also included in box 1.

You must complete Part III of Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, to figure the amount, if any, that you can exclude from your income. You can't use Form 1040EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers With No Dependents, to claim this exclusion.