Great Question @Mia Steenkamp!
Basically to claim a Child or Dependent Care Credit, the dependent has to be reportable on your tax return.
To claim the Child Tax Credit, your child must have a SSN that is valid for employment.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/tax-year-2021-filing-season-2022-child-tax-credit-frequently-....
From <https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/forums/replypage/board-id/asktheexperts/message-id/15200>
If they do not have this type of SSN, you may be able to claim them on the Credit for Other Dependents. The Credit for Other Dependents is a tax credit available to taxpayers for each of their dependents who was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien in 2021 but can't be claimed for the Child Tax Credit. The maximum credit amount is $500 for each dependent. But the credit can only reduce your tax and provides no benefit if you don't have any tax. Claim the credit with your Child Tax Credit, if any, on Schedule 8812, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other DependentsPDF.
If they do not have this, you may be able to claim them on the Credit for Other Dependents.
To claim a Child and Dependent Care Credit, your qualifying child must be under the age of 13 when the care was provided, or a spouse who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care who lived with you more than half the year or an individual who was physically or mentally incapable of caring for their own hygiene or nutritional needs or requires the full-time attention of someone.
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc602
The Care provider needs to have a federal TIN (EIN) or SSN that you will report on your tax return. So the IRS will expect them to report the income on their tax return as well.
Do these help in any way? Please let me know if you are looking for more detail on any one of these.
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