Childcare. I entered $3455 for daughter and $4713 for son. But 'Total' page only gives me $1425 and $1943 respectively, totaling $3368 for my return. Why?

[jawz]

I do have a flex benefit of $4800 through the employer deduction, not sure if that makes a difference here. I would think that I would have a total childcare that would be exactly what I paid?  $3455 + $4713.  Why not?

[LindaA · Accepted solution]

When claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit, you must reduce your childcare expenses by the amount of dependent care benefits provided by your employer that you deduct or exclude from your income. Since you had a flex benefit of $4,800, your qualifying childcare expenses were reduced by this amount.

For more information, see page 10, Dependent Care Benefits, in IRS Pub 503: Child and Dependent Care Expenses.