How do I file for FSA dependent care in 2023?

[PetesSake]

Our child attends preschool at my wife's school.  He started school in October of 2022, and the school year ends in June.  My wife had tuition deducted from her paycheck on a monthly basis.

We also had the school's HR/payroll department setup an FSA account for $5,000 out of the $8,500 tuition.  This was also deducted from her paycheck on a rolling 12-month basis starting in October 2022 to October 2023, where we received a check for $5,000 at the end of the period.

When I originally filled out the turbotax return for 2022, I put a carryover amount of $1,250 based on her paystub amount YTD.  However, her W-2 for this year lists $5,000 for Box 10 FSA deduction.

Really confused how I am supposed to fill out the FSA dependent care section in Turbotax - I put the total amount paid amount of $8,500, but it tells me to enter it again a second time and then asks for any carryover from 2022 used in 2023.  Do I enter a carryover amount of $1,250 here?  Or, since we weren't actually paid the $1,250 in 2022, do I need to enter amend my 2022 return to remove the carryover?

When I fill it out this way, turbotax says that I do not qualify for the credit despite paying $3,500 on top of the $5,000 FSA account.  Then, when I go to file it says that the provider amount paid should be great than 0.  Since we are paying the provider, this makes no sense to me.

Thanks.

[AmyC]

I think you failed to fill out the part about how much you paid the provider. Follow these steps and let's review your entries:

1. Return to the federal deductions and credits section
2. Select Child and Dependent care credit
3. Review, select Yes
4. Edit your child
5. Verify that you entered all the income paid for care
6. Next, the provider list should show the amounts paid
7. Edit each provider and be sure the amount paid is listed