What is the child and dependent care credit?

Created by Shubha Bisht, Modified on Wed, 24 Jan at 3:20 PM by Shubha Bisht

The Child and Dependent Care Credit is a credit that may help you with paid expenses for the care of a qualifying dependent if those expenses were done to enable you (and your spouse, if filing a joint return) going to work, actively looking for work, or going to school.

In order to qualify for the credit, one of the following requirements must be met:

Dependent was under age 13 when the care was provided
Your spouse who was physically or mentally incapable of self-care and lived with you for more than half of the year
An individual who was physically or mentally incapable of self-care, lived with you for more than half of the year, and either: (a) was your dependent; or (b) could have been your dependent except that he or she received gross income of $4,700 or more, or filed a joint return, or you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) could have been claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's 2023 return.

Credit is limited to $3,000 for one qualifying dependent or $6,000 for two or more qualifying dependents.

You can read more about this credit and its requirements, per the IRS, here.

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