IRS Form 2441 Instructions

For many working families, child and dependent care expenses are a significant challenge. Either someone has to sacrifice work to care for family members or pay significant amounts to a child care provider or caretaker. Fortunately, the Internal Revenue Service provides tax relief in the form of the child and dependent care tax credit, which you can claim by using IRS Form 2441.

IRS Form 2441 Instructions

This tax form consists of three parts:

We’ll go through each part, line by line. Let’s start with Part I.

Part I: Persons or Organizations Who Provided the Care

Before starting Part I, there are a couple of things worth pointing out.

If you’re filing an electronic return, your tax preparation software will likely complete your name and Social Security number automatically. Otherwise, enter that information at the top of the form.

Additionally, there are two boxes that you may need to check.

Check the first box if both of the following apply:

  • Your filing status is married filing separately, and
  • You meet the criteria for filing Form 2441

Check the second box if:

  • Either you or your spouse was a student or disabled during the tax year, and
  • You’re entering deemed income of $250 (or $500 for both spouses) per month based on the income rules in the form instructions

For each care provider, you must provide:

  • Care provider’s name
  • Address
  • Identifying number
    • For individuals, this will probably be their SSN
    • For business entities, like child care facilities, this will likely be the employer identification number, or EIN
  • Check whether or not the care provider was a household employee
  • Amount paid for either child care expenses or dependent care services

Tips on completing Part I

If you were covered by your employer’s dependent care plan and your employer either furnished the care at your workplace or hired a care provider to do so, enter the following and leave columns (c) through (e) blank:

  • Column (a): Employer’s name
  • Column (b): “See W-2”

For taxpayers with more than three care providers, check the respective box and attach a statement with similar information on the additional providers.

If your household employee also served as your care provider, you may need to pay employment taxes. To learn more, you should follow the instructions provided in Schedule H on your Form 1040.

Do not try to claim an ineligible care provider. Ineligible care providers include:

  • Spouse
  • Parent of a qualifying child
  • Someone that you can claim as a dependent
    • If your child provided care for another child or family member, then he or she must have been at least age 19 and cannot be your dependent

In column (e), only list the expenses that you paid in the given tax year, even if services were rendered in the following tax year.

Dependent care benefits

While Part I is mandatory for all taxpayers, you may not need to complete Part II or Part III of Form 2441, below.

If you did not receive dependent care benefits, then complete Part II, below to calculate your tax credit. You do not have to complete Part III.

If you did receive dependent care benefits, then you’ll need to complete Part III.

irs form 2441, part i: persons or organizations who provided the care

Part II: Credit for Child or Dependent Care Expenses

In Part II, we’ll calculate your tax credit based upon the qualifying persons in your household.

Line 2: Qualifying person(s)

For each qualifying person, you must list the following:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Social Security number
  • Whether the person was over age 12 and disabled
  • Qualified expenses incurred during the tax year for that person

If you have more than three qualifying persons, check the respective box in Line 2. You must also attach a statement with complete information on the additional qualifying persons. Please ensure that this statement contains your name and SSN so the IRS can recognize it as part of your tax return.

Line 3

Add the total amount in column (d) from Line 2, above. Do not enter more than the allowable child and dependent care expense credit, which is:

  • $3,000 for one qualifying person
  • $6,000 for two or more qualifying persons

If you completed Part III, enter the amount from Line 31.

Line 4: Earned income

If you are filing a joint return with your spouse, you must calculate this amount separately. In this situation, enter your earned income in Line 4, and your spouse’s earned income in Line 5, below.

Earned income

Earned income generally consists of the following:

  • The amount shown on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, Line 1z, minus:
    • Any amount excluded as foreign earned income on IRS Form 2555; or
    • Also reported on Schedule SE because:
      • You were a member of the clergy or
      • You received $108.28 or more of church employee income
  • The amount shown on Schedule SE (Form 1040), Line 3, minus any deduction you claim on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Line 15.
  • If you are filing Schedule C as a statutory employee, the amount shown on Line 1
  • Nontaxable combat pay, if you elect to include it in earned income.

You should note that including nontaxable combat pay will only give you a larger tax credit if your other earned income is less than the amount entered on Line 3. To make the election, include all of your nontaxable combat pay in the amount you enter on Line 4 (Line 5 for your spouse if filing jointly).

If you are filing jointly and both you and your spouse received nontaxable combat pay, you can each make your own election. The amount of your nontaxable combat pay should be shown in Box 12 of your Form(s) W-2 with Code Q.

Line 5: Spouse’s earned income

If you are a married couple filing a joint tax return, enter your spouse’s income. All other taxpayers should carry forward the amount from Line 4, above.

Line 6

Enter the smallest of:

  • Line 3
  • Line 4
  • Line 5

Line 7

Enter the amount from Line 11 of IRS Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR

Line 8

Using the chart on the form, enter the corresponding decimal amount. For example, if Line 7 is $28,000, then you would enter 0.28 in this field.

irs form 2441, Part II: Credit for child and dependent care expenses

Line 9

In Line 9a, multiply the number in Line 6 by the decimal amount in Line 8.

On Line 9b, complete Worksheet A in the instructions only if you prepaid qualified expenses in the previous tax year. For example, on your 2022 tax return, you would complete Worksheet A if you paid child care expenses in 2021.

In Line 9c, enter the total sum of Lines 9a and 9b.

Line 10: Tax liability limit

Follow these instructions to calculate the tax liability limit:

  1. Enter the amount from Line 18 on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR
  2. Enter the amount from Schedule 3, Line 1 and Line 6l (IRS Form 8978, Line 14)
  3. Subtract Line 2 from Line 1

Enter this result in Line 10. If the result is zero or a negative number, then you cannot take any tax credit.

Line 11: Credit for child and dependent care expenses

Enter the smaller of:

  • Line 9c
  • Line 10

Also enter this number on Schedule 3, Line 2.

Part III: Dependent Care Benefits

If you received dependent care benefits during the tax year, you must complete Part III before going on to Part II. In Part III, we’ll calculate the amount of dependent care benefits received, but excludible from taxable income.

Line 12: Total dependent care benefits received during the tax year

Include the following:

  • Any amounts received as an employee that is shown in Box 10 on your Form W-2
  • If you were self-employed or a partner, any amounts received under a dependent care assistance program from your sole proprietorship or partnership

Don’t include any amounts reported as wages in Box 1 on your Form W-2.

Line 13: Amounts carried over from previous tax years

If there were amounts from previous years that you carried over, enter them here. This includes the following temporary rules from Section 214 of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020:

  • Special rules for unused amounts in dependent care FSA plans
  • Carryforwards for dependent care FSAs where your qualifying child aged out during the coronavirus pandemic
Unused amounts in dependent care FSA plans

If you have a flexible spending account (FSA) for dependent care or childcare expenses, your employer was able to extend unused benefits from tax years 2020 or 2021 into tax year 2022. This also extended the claims period for those plan years. Your employer’s human resources department should have more detailed information regarding your dependent care FSA.

Dependent care FSAs where your dependent child aged out during the pandemic

Section 214 also allowed your employer to extend the maximum age of eligible dependents from age 12 to 13 for unused amounts from the 2020 tax year into 2021. If this happened within your employer’s plan, you can use unused dependent care benefits carried forward into subsequent years, as long as your child was under age 14 for the 2021 plan year.

This only applies to amounts you received from the dependent care plan, not amounts that you paid outside the plan.

Line 14: Forfeited amounts or carryovers

In Line 14, include the total of the following:

  • Forfeited amounts. You forfeited an amount if you didn’t receive it because you didn’t incur the expense.
  • Any amounts you didn’t receive but are permitted by your employer to carry forward and use in the following year.

Line 15

Combine the amounts from Lines 12 and 13. Subtract any amounts included on Line 14.

Line 16

Enter the total qualified expenses incurred during the tax year for the care of the qualifying person(s).

Line 17

Enter the smaller of Line 15 or Line 16.

IRS Form 2441 Part III: Dependent Care benefits

Line 18: Earned income

If you are filing a joint return with your spouse, you must calculate this amount separately. In this situation, enter your earned income in Line 18, and your spouse’s earned income in Line 19, below.

Earned income

Earned income generally consists of the following:

  • The amount shown on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, Line 1z, minus:
    • Any amount excluded as foreign earned income on IRS Form 2555; or
    • Also reported on Schedule SE because:
      • You were a member of the clergy or
      • You received $108.28 or more of church employee income
  • The amount shown on Schedule SE (Form 1040), Line 3, minus any deduction you claim on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), Line 15.
  • If you are filing Schedule C as a statutory employee, the amount shown on Line 1
  • Nontaxable combat pay, if you elect to include it in earned income.

Unlike in Lines 4 or 5, do not include any dependent care benefits shown on Line 12.

Line 19: Spouse’s earned income

If you are a married couple filing a joint tax return, enter your spouse’s income. All other taxpayers should carry forward the amount from Line 18, above.

Line 20

Enter the smallest of:

  • Line 17
  • Line 18
  • Line 19

Line 21

Enter $5,000. If you are married filing a separate return, and you were required to enter your spouse’s earned income on Line 19, enter $2,500.

If you entered any amount on Line 13, add it to the number, but do not enter more than the maximum amount allowed under your dependent care plan.

Line 22

If you received any amounts from your sole proprietorship or partnership, enter that number here. Otherwise, select ‘No’ and proceed to Line 23.

Line 23

Subtract Line 22 from Line 15. If you selected ‘No’ in Line 22, this amount should be the same as Line 15.

Line 24: Deductible benefits

This number should be the smaller of:

  • Line 20
  • Line 21
  • Line 22

Include your deductible benefits in the total entered on one of the following, as applicable, from your Form 1040:

  • Schedule C Line 14
  • Schedule E Line 19 or Line 28; or
  • Schedule F Line 15

Line 25: Excluded benefits

If you checked “No” on Line 22, enter the smaller of Line 20 or 21. Otherwise,
subtract Line 24 from the smaller of line 20 or line 21.

If this number is zero or less, enter -0-.

Line 26: Taxable benefits

Subtract Line 25 from Line 23. If zero or less, enter -0-.

Also, enter this amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, Line 1e.

Line 27

Lines 27 through 31

If you are reporting child or dependent care benefits and claiming a tax credit for child and dependent care expenses in Part II, then you must complete Lines 27 through 31. If not, then you do not need to complete these lines.

In Line 27, enter the following:

  • $3,000, if you only have one qualifying person
  • $6,000 if you have two or more qualifying persons

Line 28

Enter the total of Lines 24 and 25.

Line 29

Subtract Line 28 from Line 27. If this results in zero or a negative number, you cannot take the credit, unless you paid 2021 expenses in 2022.

If you did, then follow the instructions for Line 9b.

Line 30

Complete Line 2 from this form. Do not include any benefits shown on Line 28.

Line 31

Enter the smaller of Line 29 or Line 30. Enter this amount on Line 3, then complete Lines 4 though 11 as instructed.

IRS Form 2441, lines 27-31 only need to be completed by taxpayers who report child and dependent care benefits and are taking the child and dependent care tax credit

What is IRS Form 2441?

IRS Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, is the IRS form that taxpayers may use to calculate and deduct qualified care expenses from their tax liability. As a tax credit, these qualified expenses result in a dollar for dollar reduction in tax liability.

What are qualified expenses for the child and dependent care tax credit?

Qualified expenses include amounts that you paid for household services and care of your qualifying person, as listed on Line 2, while you were either working or actively searching for work. Your work may be inside your primary residence, or outside your home.

Household services

Household services include services needed to care for your qualifying person as well as to run the home while you worked or looked for work. Examples include the services of:

  • Cook or food preparer
  • Maid, cleaning service or housekeeper
  • Babysitter

The services must be partly for the care of the qualifying person. Household services do not include don’t include the services of a chauffeur or driver, bartender, or gardener.

You can also include your share of the employment taxes paid on wages for qualifying child and dependent care services.

Care of the qualifying person

This includes expenses incurred for the qualifying person’s well-being and protection. These expenses do not include the cost of food, lodging, education, clothing, or entertainment.

You can include the cost of care provided outside your home for your dependent under age 13, or any other qualifying person who regularly spends at least 8 hours a day in your home.

If the care was provided by a dependent care center, the center must meet all applicable state and local regulations. A dependent care center is a place that provides care for more than six persons (other than persons who live there). A dependent care center generally receives a fee, payment, or grant for providing services for any of those persons, even if the center is not run for profit.

You can include amounts paid for items other than the care of your child only if the items are incidental to the care of the child and can’t be separated from the total cost.

You cannot include the cost of schooling for a child in kindergarten or above, but you can include the cost of a day camp. This does not extend to educational expenses, such as a tutoring program or overnight programs like a summer camp.

Medical expenses

Some disabled spouse and dependent care expenses can qualify as medical expenses if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. However, you can’t claim the same expense as both a dependent care expense and a medical expense.

Video walkthrough

Frequently asked questions

What if my care provider doesn’t give me the information I need to claim the child care credit on Form 2441?

If you are not able to provide all the information requested in Part I, your credit may be disallowed by the IRS unless you can show that you conducted due diligence in trying to obtain the information. You can demonstrate due diligence if you can obtain a copy of the care provider’s Form W-10 or attach a separate statement indicating all the actions that you took to obtain the requested information from the care provider.

How much is the child and dependent care credit?

For tax year 2022, the child and dependent tax credit is:
-$3,000 for one qualifying child or qualifying person
-$6,000 for two or more qualifying children or persons

Who is a qualifying person for the Child And Dependent Care Credit?

To be claimed as a qualifying person for the child and dependent care credit, a person must be one of the following:
-A qualifying child under age 13 whom you can claim as a dependent. If the child turned 13 during the tax year, the child is only a qualifying person for the part of the year he or she was under age 13.
-Your disabled spouse who wasn’t physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself, and who lived with you for more than half the year.
-Any disabled person who wasn’t physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself, who lived with you more than half the year, and whom you can claim or could claim as a dependent except they had gross income of $4,000 or more, filed a joint return, or could be claimed as a dependent on another person’s income tax return.

For divorced taxpayers, who can claim the child and dependent care tax credit?

For children of separated or divorced taxpayers, generally the custodial parent can claim the tax credit, but the noncustodial parent cannot.

Where do I file Form 2441?

If you file electronic tax returns, your tax software will automatically include Form 2441 with your tax return. If you mail tax returns, you must include this form and any supporting documentation to the IRS Service Center where you normally file your income tax returns.

Who Needs To Fill Out Form 2441?

All taxpayers who expect to receive a tax credit for qualifying expenses related to the care of a qualifying child or other qualifying person need to complete Form 2441 and attach it to their federal income tax return.

Where can I find IRS Form 2441?

You may obtain this tax form from the IRS website. For your convenience, we’ve included the most recent copy of this form at the end of this article.

This tax form is one of the fillable tax forms provided by the Internal Revenue Service, to help taxpayers reduce their tax preparation costs. To see more forms like this, visit our free fillable tax forms page, where you’ll also find articles like this.

Unlike the IRS, our articles contain step by step instructions for each tax form, as well as video walkthroughs. You can also check out all of our videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel!

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