My Dependent Qualifies for the Child and Dependent Care Credit but Had No Child Care Expenses

If you have more than one qualifying person for the Child and Dependent Care Credit (Form 2441), but child care expenses were paid for only one of them, you should still include all qualifying individuals in the credit section.

For any qualifying person who did not have child care expenses:

• Select or check the box indicating they are a qualifying person.
• Enter $0 for their child care expenses.

This allows the program to correctly complete Form 2441 and determine your allowable credit based on the expenses that were actually paid.

Example

You have two qualifying children:

• Child A had $4,000 of qualifying child care expenses.
• Child B had no child care expenses.

When completing the Child and Dependent Care Credit section:

• Enter Child A and allocate $4,000 of expenses.
• Enter Child B and allocate $0 of expenses.

The program will use the information provided to calculate the credit correctly.

Where Do I Enter Child Care Expenses?

1.  Select Federal
2. Choose Deductions - Select My Forms
3. Select Credits
4. Select Child and Dependent Care Credit (Form 2441)
5. Enter the care provider information.
6. Enter each qualifying person and allocate the appropriate amount of expenses.

Be sure the total expenses allocated to all qualifying persons equal the total expenses entered for your care provider(s). This helps ensure the credit calculates correctly.