Babysitting (or child care) income is self-employment income. It's reported by the provider on SCH C as a part of their tax return. If you will be claiming the child care tax credit (and qualify to do so), then the provider is required by law to provide you their SSN or EIN. Otherwise, you can't claim it.
The below doesn't apply to you (not yet anyway) but it does have useful information for both you and the provider.
Caregiver
refuses to supply SSN or EIN
I can understand why someone would not want to give you
their SSN. You understand too. But maybe the caregiver isn’t aware of just how
fast and easy it is for them to get an EIN (Employer Identification
Number)? Make them aware that they can
go online to http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-...
and it will only take them about 10 minutes to get an EIN – which they can then
provide to you as required by federal law.
Assuming you have already requested this information from
your dependent care provider, and they still refuse to provide it. here is the
procedure that you must follow, in order to claim the dependent care credit
without the provider’s SSN or EIN.
First, understand that you can not e-file your return
without the caregiver’s SSN or EIN. You will have to print, sign and mail it to
the IRS. There is no alternative or workaround for this.
Next, print out a form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer
Identification Number and Certification) from the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.
Fill out the W-9 form with all the information that you
know.
Make 2 additional copies of the filled out W-9 for your
own records.
Mail the form to the caregiver via certified mail. Don’t
lose your post office receipt.
The caregiver has 10 calendar days to respond. If they
respond with the information you need, then you’re good to go. If they have not
responded, then on the 11th day after you mailed it certified mail:
Select the “print and file” option for your tax return.
This will print only the documents required for filing, along with an
instruction sheet that contains the address of the specific IRS processing
center you will mail it to.
Include in your mailing a copy (not an original) of your
proof of notification (the certified mail receipt you got at the post office),
and a copy of the W-9 that you sent to the caregiver.
That’s it. While this will delay your refund (it’ll be
6-8 weeks before you get it), you’ll still get the credit. At this point, it’s
no longer your problem – it’s the caregiver’s.
