Dependent care fsa married filing separately

[tyler-vandyne]

My wife and I file Married Filing Separately because she is on income based repayment for student loans. I understand the for that filing status, we both (separately) can contribute a maximum of $2,500 ($5,000 total) into a Dependent Care FSA account. We have two kids; ages 2 and 1, whom my wife claims on her taxes. We send them both to the same babysitter who provide us with her information for tax purposes. 

1) Can we both use the "end of year receipt" with how much we paid to get reimbursement for each of our DCFSA accounts? The total will significantly exceed the maximum $5,000 per household ($2,500 separately). I read that you can only use your dependent care expenses one time when requesting reimbursement.

2) When we file, do we need to do anything differently to have the $2,500 accepted for filing? Meaning, because my wife claims both our kids, but I save for dependent care also, what do I need to do so we can take advantage of the money I saved and not have that added back into taxable income for me?

[Anonymous]

Married Persons Filing Separately

Generally, married persons must file a joint return to claim the credit. If your filing status is married filing separately

and all of the following apply, you are considered unmarried for purposes of claiming the credit on Form 2441.

• You lived apart from your spouse during the last 6 months of 2018.

• Your home was the qualifying person's main home for more than half of 2018.

• You paid more than half of the cost of keeping up that home for 2018.

If you meet all the requirements to be treated as unmarried and meet items 2 through 5 listed earlier, you

can take the credit or the exclusion. If you don't meet all the requirements to be treated as unmarried, you can't

take the credit. However, you can take the exclusion if you meet items 2 through 5.

2. The care was provided so you (and your spouse if filing jointly) could work or look for work. However, if you

didn't find a job and have no earned income for the year, you can't take the credit or the exclusion. But if you or your

spouse was a full-time student or disabled, see the instructions for lines 4 and 5, later.

3. The care must be for one or more qualifying persons.

4. The person who provided the care wasn't your spouse, the parent of your qualifying child, or a person whom you can claim as a dependent. If your child provided the care, he or she must have been age 19 or older by the end of 2018, and he or she can't be your dependent.

5. You report the required information about the care provider on line 1 and, if taking the credit, the information about the qualifying person on line 2.

qualifying person

1. A qualifying child under age 13 whom you can claim as a dependent. If the child turned 13 during the year, the child is a qualifying person for the part of the year he or she was under age 13.

my opinion is that since your spouse will be claiming all the dependents you do not have a qualifying person. (only one person can claim a person as a dependent )

Thus the $2500 you received will end up as taxable income on your return.

compare your taxes this way as compared to what happens if you claim one of your kids and your wife claims the other.