My wife had $5,000 withheld pretax from her wages for child care expenses why is that listed on her w-2 as dependent care benefits?

[richfen4]

Our two kids daycare costs were over $8,000,

[bine22 · Accepted solution]

The money withheld from her pay is a flexible spending account (FSA). The amount withheld is listed on box 10 on the W2. To actually qualify to have that money taxfree, you need to fill out form 2441 for dependent care expenses. 

Since you have two kids, you can claim up to $6000 in daycare expense. The money from the FSA is deducted from that amount and you can claim a dependent care credit on the remaining $1000.