turbotax icon
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
turbotax icon
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Announcements
Attend our Ask the Experts event about Deciphering Your Tax Forms on Feb 19! >> RSVP NOW!
Close icon
Do you have a TurboTax Online account?

We'll help you get started or pick up where you left off.

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

 
x
Do you have an Intuit account?

Do you have an Intuit account?

You'll need to sign in or create an account to connect with an expert.

1 Best answer

Accepted Solutions

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

Since your return was accepted by the IRS, you must prepare, print, sign and mail an amended tax return form 1040X to add the child care expense. Depending on how much additional credit you would receive for the additional expense, you can decide whether the hassle of amending your return is worth it.

DO NOT change your original tax return until you start the amended return. If you have already changed it from the way it was originally filed and accepted, you must change it back before you start the amended return. 

Wait until you receive the refund from your original return before beginning your amended return to make sure you enter the correct amount. The amended return form 1040X will not be available in TurboTax until mid February.  It takes the IRS about 4 months to process and amended return.

Here is an FAQ to help you:                                                                  

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed


View solution in original post

6 Replies

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

You mean you didn't enter the expenses for his day care for Jan.-Aug.? Were the expenses for Sept.-December at least $3000? If so, you would not get any additional credit for the additional expenses. If you have already filed your tax return and need to add more expenses, post back and we'll give you the next steps.

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

The expenses for Sept-December were less than $3,000.  He changed schools in September, my mind was obviously only on that portion of daycare.  My return was JUST accepted today.

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

Since your return was accepted by the IRS, you must prepare, print, sign and mail an amended tax return form 1040X to add the child care expense. Depending on how much additional credit you would receive for the additional expense, you can decide whether the hassle of amending your return is worth it.

DO NOT change your original tax return until you start the amended return. If you have already changed it from the way it was originally filed and accepted, you must change it back before you start the amended return. 

Wait until you receive the refund from your original return before beginning your amended return to make sure you enter the correct amount. The amended return form 1040X will not be available in TurboTax until mid February.  It takes the IRS about 4 months to process and amended return.

Here is an FAQ to help you:                                                                  

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed


I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

Is it worth it to amend to go from claiming $1,500 in daycare expenses to $6,000?

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

If you only have one child in day care, you can only claim $3000 of expenses. For two children, you can claim $6000. The credit is from 20% to 35% of allowable expenses. The percentage depends upon your adjusted gross income. You can see what percentage (decimal number) applies to your AGI by looking at line 8 of form 2441: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2441.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2441.pdf</a>. With a maximum allowable for one child of $3000, the additional credit for $1500 more would be from $300 to $525. With a maximum allowable for two children of $6000, the additional credit would be $900 to $1575.

Child care credit is a non refundable credit so you must have tax liability for it to offset in order to get it.

I didn't account for my childs daycare at the beginning of the year. I just did his care from Sept-December

So it sounds like it would be worth it.  Thank you so much for the information.  Very helpful
message box icon

Get more help

Ask questions and learn more about your taxes and finances.

Post your Question