I have to pay for registration and the first & last weeks daycare cost to enroll for 2025. If I pay this in 2024, can I use the dependant tax credit on my 2024 taxes?

[rjs · Accepted solution]

No. You use the costs for 2025 on your 2025 tax return, even though you prepaid part of it in 2024. IRS Publication 503, "Child and Dependent Care Expenses," says the following.

"Expenses prepaid in an earlier year. If you pay for services before they are provided, you can count the prepaid expenses only in the year the care is received. Claim the expenses for the later year as if they were actually paid in that later year."