I cannot seem to add my children's daycare expenses. I answer yes that I paid for dependent care, residency and none of the above and it brings me back to the deductions.

[frankjfreda]

I seem to be in an endless loop.

[LenaH · Accepted solution]

You must enter your income (and the income of your spouse) for the child care expense screens to populate and you must meet several criteria to qualify for the child and dependent care credit.

To qualify, you must meet all of the following:

• You (and your spouse, if you are married filing jointly) must have earned income for the tax year.
• You must be the custodial parent or main caretaker of the child or dependent.
• The child or dependent care service must have been used so that you could work or look for employment. 
• Your filing status must be single, head of household, qualifying widow or widower with a qualifying child, or married filing jointly.
• Your child or dependent must be under 13 or must be disabled and physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves.
• The childcare provider cannot be your spouse or dependent or the child's parent.

Keep in mind that expenses related to schooling, tutoring, or overnight camps are not qualifying expenses.

Qualifying expenses also include:

• Childcare provided by a babysitter or licensed dependent care center.
• The cost of a cook, housekeeper, maid or cleaning person who provides care for the child or dependent.
• Day camp or summer camp fees, even for camps centered around a sport or activity, qualify if the camp was selected to provide care while the parent or parents were at work. However, overnight camps do not qualify.
• Costs related to before- and after-school care for children under 13.
• Costs related to a nurse, home care provider, or other care provider for a disabled dependent.

Once you enter your income, and are qualified to deduct childcare expenses, please follow these steps in TurboTax: 

1. While signed in to your return, search for child care credit (use this exact term) and select the Jump to link at the top of your search results.
2. This will take you to the Did you pay for child or dependent care in 2021? screen. Answer Yes (even if the real answer is no).
3. Follow the on-screen instructions. 

[leohuhta]

The help question by someone states that you get put in an endless loop trying to enter daycare expenses.

The suggestion to search for the child care credit and jump to the link brings you back to the same endless loop.

You fill out all info on dependents but you never get to a place to enter day care expenses.

Leo

[PattiF]

You may not get to the section where you can enter the daycare expenses if you have not entered income. This needs to be entered first. If filing as Head of Household, one person needs to have income. If Married Filing Jointly, both people need to have

 income.

@leohuhta 

[bianca1005]

I am having the same problem. W2's uploaded, but it never brings me to where I have to enter the expenses, just keeps bringing me back to tax breaks and then tells me im missing information. Please fix this.

[xmasbaby0]

@bianca1005 Are you filing a joint return?  Did you make sure to enter W-2's under each spouse's name?  You have to enter earned income for both of you if you are filing joint.   And make sure your dependent is entered correctly.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2022 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

[bianca1005]

filing separately. When I changed the status to single it finally brought me to child care expenses. So I can't claim child care because I'm married? Income isn't even over $60k.

[xmasbaby0]

Oh---if you are filing married filing separately you cannot get the childcare credit.   You can get the credit if you file a joint return.   Or if you have lived apart from your spouse for at least the last six months of 2022 you could file Head of Household.  

  You cannot file Single if you are legally married.

If you were legally married at the end of 2022 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately.

Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $25,900 (+$1400 for each spouse 65 or older)  You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit. 

If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return. Some of the special rules for filing separately include: you cannot get earned income credit, education credits, adoption credits, or deductions for student loan interest. A higher percent of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. Your limit for SALT (state and local taxes and sales tax) will be only $5000 per spouse. In many cases you will not be able to take the child and dependent care credit. The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be affected. If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI)

 If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-married-filing-jointly-vs-married-filing-separately

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901162-married-filing-separately-in-community-property-states

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894449-is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separ...

[bianca1005]

wow, marriage is ghetto. don't recommend. LOL thanks for your help!

[ehennemann]

My spouse and I both had income, but only he has a W-2. My income was reported on a 1099-NEC. Therefore, Turbotax thinks that only he had income. There is nowhere to enter my name for the 1099-NEC income. How do I show that I also had income so that we can apply for childcare deductions?

[DaveF1006]

It depends on the type of 1099 NEC income you received. Here is how to enter the earned income if from a line of work.

1. Log into turbo tax
2. Go to federal>income and expenses
3. Self-Employment>Schedule C: 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, 1099-K, expenses

Once this is entered, then the program will recognize you had earned income also and you should now be able to claim the Childcare Dependent credit.

@ehennemann