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ross-ad2
New Member

TT says I don't get the Child & Dependent Care Credit since my $18,200 in childcare expenses wasn't enough to use up my $5,000 contribution. This makes no sense, 18>5

Verbatim Text: Why don't I have a Child and Dependent Care Credit? Since your $18,200 in care expenses wasn't enough to use up the $5,000 you contributed to your employer's dependent care plan, your Child and Dependent Care Credit is $0. The $2,000 of unspent care benefits will be added to your W-2 as taxable income.
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2 Replies
KeshaH
Expert Alumni

TT says I don't get the Child & Dependent Care Credit since my $18,200 in childcare expenses wasn't enough to use up my $5,000 contribution. This makes no sense, 18>5

How many children do you have in childcare?

 

For one child, the max amount of work-related expenses you can claim for the credit is $3,000 and this amount has to be reduced by any tax free dependent care benefits that you received. Since you had $5,000 in benefits, you wouldn't qualify for the credit for just one child.

 

For more than one child, the max amount of work-related expenses you can clam is $6,000 and this also has to be reduced by tax free dependent care benefits. In this case, you should qualify for a credit based on $1,000 of qualified expenses.

 

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ross-ad2
New Member

TT says I don't get the Child & Dependent Care Credit since my $18,200 in childcare expenses wasn't enough to use up my $5,000 contribution. This makes no sense, 18>5

Thanks, I have one child so that makes sense. TurboTax should probably be updated to explain that better.

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