Married and first child in 2023

[mdaudt]

We had a baby in 2023 and got married.

We want to file jointy. What do we do for this? Is there any form that we get from childcare showing the cost for the year?

[SwapnaM]

@mdaudt Thank you for the question!! Congratulations on your marriage & the new bundle of joy!! Yes, it would benefit you filing as Married Filing Jointly. You'll be eligible for Child tax credit & Child & Dependent Care credit if you satisfy the requirements.

In the TurboTax Software, go to the the Personal Info section. It will ask if you were married in 2023.  Answer yes or no.  If you say yes, the next question will be whether you want to file together with your spouse.  Choose Yes for a joint return, No for married filing separately.

The Child and Dependent Care Credit is worth as much as 35% of your qualified expenses, up to $3,000, (for one qualifying person), and $6,000 (for two or more qualifying persons). Your percentage depends on your AGI, with the higher percentages applying to lower incomes and vice-versa. You can request the Day care for the Annual statement for the total expenses for the year. The statement will have the address & federal ID number for the day care, which will be required when filing the taxes.

[mdaudt]

Is there any other than daycare expenses or anything that I should be keeping track of for our child deduction?

[swapna]

@mdaudt For the child care expenses, the annual statement is good from the day care. Please also look at the Care Providers info at https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc602  

[cucpa1991]

As mentioned above The Child and Dependent Care Credit only requires an  Annual statement for the total expenses for the year from the qualified provider.  

By federal law, daycare providers are required to provide their clients with either their SSN or EIN (Employer Identification Number). Most providers will provide these in January, either by request or via your account in their website.

On your tax return, you will use Form 2441 to report the names of the individuals and organizations you make payments to during the year for care provider services. The IRS also requires their addresses, Social Security or employer identification numbers, and the amount that you paid them.

This is all you will need to file and claim The Child and Dependent Care Credit.