Qualification for child care credit

[eliyah-kilada]

Wife is taking continuous education courses with the intent of regaining her nursing license. No income was made. Could we claim the child care credit? 

[JohnH1]

Can You Claim the Credit?

Tests you must meet to claim a credit for child and dependent care expenses.

To be able to claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses, you must meet all the following tests.

1. Qualifying Person Test. The care must be for one or more qualifying persons who are identified on Form 2441. (See Who Is a Qualifying Person, later.)

2. Earned Income Test. You (and your spouse if filing jointly) must have earned income during the year. (However, see Rule for student-spouse or spouse not able to care for self under You Must Have Earned Income, later.)

3. Work-Related Expense Test. You must pay child and dependent care expenses so you (and your spouse if filing jointly) can work or look for work. (See Are These Work-Related Expenses, later.)

4. You must make payments for child and dependent care to someone you (and your spouse) can't claim as a dependent. If you make payments to your child (including stepchild or foster child), he or she can't be your dependent and must be age 19 or older by the end of the year. You can't make payments to:

   1. Your spouse, or

   2. The parent of your qualifying person if your qualifying person is your child and under age 13.

[MichaelG81]

It depends, in order to qualify, you must meet these guidelines set by the IRS:

Who Qualifies

You can claim the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child who has a Social Security number that is valid for employment in the United States.

To be a qualifying child for the 2022 tax year, your dependent generally must:

• Be under age 17 at the end of the year
• Be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild, niece or nephew)
• Provide no more than half of their own financial support during the year
• Have lived with you for more than half the year
• Be properly claimed as your dependent on your tax return
• Not file a joint return with their spouse for the tax year or file it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid
• Have been a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien

You qualify for the full amount of the 2022 Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if you meet all eligibility factors and your annual income is not more than $200,000 ($400,000 if filing a joint return).

Parents and guardians with higher incomes may be eligible to claim a partial credit.

Use our Interactive Tax Assistant to check if you qualify.

Education credits for continuing education courses may not qualify, click this link for qualified educational expenses for the AOTC American Opportunity Tax Credit, or the LLC Lifetime Learning Credit.

@eliyah-kilada