Child and Dependet Care Care Help

The child and dependent care credit is the credit  you may get if you paid someone to take care of your child so you could work.

Federal>Deductions and Credits>You and Your Family>Child and Dependent Care Credit

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/qualifying-person-child-dependent-care-credit/L4BGIsMGO_US_en_US?uid=le0s238m

The child tax credit is a child-related credit you may get if you have income from working and have a child who is younger than 17.   If you have a dependent older than 16, you may get the $500 credit for other

dependents.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE CREDIT

You will not get the childcare credit until (unless) you enter income earned from working.   The credit does not work unless you enter your income first.   If you are filing a joint return you must show income for both spouses, or show that one or both of you was a student or disabled.   If you have self-employment income and show a loss you will not get the childcare credit.  You will not get the credit if you are filing married filing separately.  

If you have entered all of your income and you have entered your dependent(s) then work on the childcare credit by entering the Tax ID or Social Security number of your childcare provider and enter the amount you paid for the childcare.

One of the most common mistakes that messes up the childcare credit for people is listing all of the earned income under only one name on a joint return.  Make very sure that your incomes are listed under each of your names.  It’s pretty easy to check.  Go to the Income section, and click “update” on Wages and Salary.  That will take you to the W-2 Summary.  Do you see income listed under both of your names? 

 The person receiving the care had to be 12 or under or qualified as mentally or physically disabled. To claim the childcare credit you need to be filing as Head of Household or Married Filing Jointly. (NOT married filing separately)

 If your child was born in 2022 make sure you say the child lived with you all year. The credit is a percentage of your expenses based on your AGI (the higher the income, the lower the percentage)  You must provide the Social Security number for each child you are claiming, and the Social Security number or Tax ID for each care provider. 

In the case of divorced or never-married parents—only the custodial parent can use the childcare credit.

And remember that the childcare credit is a NON-refundable credit.  It can reduce your tax owed down to zero, but it is not added to your refund.

CHILD TAX CREDIT AND ADDITIONAL CHILD TAX CREDIT

The 2021 child-related credits were very generous.  Lots of people are being taken by surprise this year when they find out the credits for 2022 are lower than they were last year.

The tax laws changed for child-related credits and are much less generous for 2022.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2022 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

Have you entered income from working in 2022?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

The rules for getting the child tax credit on a 2021 tax return and now on a 2022 return are very different.  For 2021 you could get $3600 for a child under 6 or $3000 for a child between 6 and 17 even if you had no income/did not work.   That is NOT the way it will work for your 2022 tax return.  The “old” rules are back. 

  The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1500.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1500 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1500.

 If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2022, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

First of all, you have to enter all of your w2 income and you must both have income OR be disabled or a student. If you are showing no credit for child care credit, be sure your w2 forms are showing the correct person as the owner. If they all have just one person, you will not qualify. Also, you have to enter the day care provider and all of their information.

Secondly, the child tax credit is $2,000 per child under age 16 and is not related to child care credit. They only sound almost exactly alike.

Finally, you do want to input your daycare expenses to receive credit - be sure you answer all questions. It sounds like you are missing some information. Follow these steps:

1. Return to federal deductions
2. Select child and dependent care credit
3. Do you  want to review your information, select yes
4. It sounds like you should have your child showing so that you can select edit.
5. Expenses should be entered, continue
6. Child shows again, select done.
7. Let's get into about your day care provider
8. Fill in the information required.

Ha! xmasbaby0 just answered and it is full of great information!