Can you claim a second qualifying child with $0 in child care expenses to increase your credit even if the second qualifying child is not in child care?

[rjs]

Yes, you can do that. The limit on child care expenses that you can use for the child care credit is a total of $6,000 for two or more children. It doesn't matter how much is spent on each child. You can spend $6,000 on one child an nothing on the other child.

[BillM223]

Yes, that is a curious twist in the calculation of dependent care benefits. When you go through the interview for dependent care benefits (which ends up being form 2441), you can claim a second child (if you have an eligible one) in the calculation, even if none of your benefits were spent on that child.

Look at Question 9 on "Child and Dependent Care Credit FAQs".

[Edited 2/13/2025 10:04 PST to update link above]