Hi! I have two child dependents. Child #1 received childcare from January-August until starting Kindergarten. Child #2 was born in July and received childcare from September to the end of the year. I have an FSA account for dependent care where I elected to contribute $5,000 to the account pre-tax. The full amount must be claimed between July 2024 and June 2025. I do not receive the full $5,000 at once, but rather have a little over $200 taken from each paycheck and put in the FSA. In December 2024, I had paid $3,700 for child #2 and filed a claim to be reimbursed everything that I had currently accrued in the FSA which was $2,300. I did not claim any reimbursement for child #1.
TurboTax is asking for the total dependent care expenses for child #2, and to include any money paid from the FSA. Would I add the $3,700 only? Would I subtract the $2,300 from the $3,700 and only claim $1,400? Or would I claim both what I paid out of pocket AND what I was reimbursed?
Yes, you will add the full $3,700, the amount of care expenses without subtracting the FSA. Since the amount from your FSA was reported on your W-2 box 10, TurboTax will automatically reduce the expenses eligible for the Dependent Care Credit for you.
See more information about the credit here: The Ins and Outs of the Child and Dependent Care Credit