Sounds like you didn't qualify for the credit. Here are the qualifications.
Qualifying Person Test. The care must be for one or more qualifying persons who are identified on Form 2441. (See Who Is a Qualifying Person, later.)
Earned Income Test. You (and your spouse if filing jointly) must have earned income during the year. (However, see Rule for student-spouse or spouse not able to care for self under You Must Have Earned Income, later.)
Work-Related Expense Test. You must pay child and dependent care expenses so you (and your spouse if filing jointly) can work or look for work. (See Are These Work-Related Expenses, later.)
You must make payments for child and dependent care to someone you (and your spouse) can't claim as a dependent. If you make payments to your child (including stepchild or foster child), he or she can't be your dependent and must be age 19 or older by the end of the year. You can't make payments to:
Your spouse, or
The parent of your qualifying person if your qualifying person is your child and under age 13.
See Payments to Relatives or Dependents under Are These Work-Related Expenses, later.
Joint Return Test. Your filing status may be single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. If you are married, you must file a joint return, unless an exception applies to you. See What’s Your Filing Status, later.
Provider Identification Test. You must identify the care provider on your tax return. (See Care Provider Identification Test, later.)
If you exclude or deduct dependent care benefits provided by a dependent care benefit plan, the total amount you exclude or deduct must be less than the dollar limit for qualifying expenses (generally, $8,000 if you had one qualifying person or $16,000 if you had two or more qualifying persons). (If you had two or more qualifying persons, the amount you exclude or deduct will always be less than the dollar limit because the total amount you can exclude or deduct is limited to $10,500. See Reduced Dollar Limit under How To Figure the Credit, later.)
Most of time, it could be either earned income wasn't earned by both spouses or no EIN reported for the provider.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
