Unable to claim dependent care credit for unemployed spouse looking for work.

Forum|Forum|11 months ago
April 14, 2025
1 reply
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Account IRS and Intuit Turbox help box:

You're eligible to claim the child and dependent care credit for expenses paid for the care of an individual to allow you to work or look for work.

But I am not able to claim the credit since it does not let me go to next screen to claim the credit. I am not disabled and not a full time student so how to add dependent care.

Bsch4477

Who is receiving the care? Are you married and both working?

solanbeachAuthor

I am working and have a dependent care account. I contributed $5,000 to the account. My spouse is unemployed and looking for work. We have spent $20,000 for the care of our kids. Our kid is age 3, so we have paid for daycare.

VolvoGirl

I found this answer posted by other top users……

You can use the benefits for care that you paid for while your spouse was looking for work, but looking for work is not the entire requirement. In order to exclude the dependent care benefits or claim the child care credit your spouse must have actually found work and had income during the tax year. The requirement stated in the IRS instructions for Form 2441 is the following.

"The care was provided so you (or your spouse if filing jointly) could work or look for work. However, if you didn't find a job and have no earned income for the year, you can't take the credit or the exclusion."

So if your spouse has no income from working (and was not a full-time student or disabled) you are not eligible to exclude the dependent care benefits, and the calculation in TurboTax is correct for your situation.

While care provided so your spouse can look for work is considered "qualified", the dollar amount of the credit is still limited by the income of the lower-earning spouse. If she didn't work at all, then you can't get any credit, and the amount from the account is properly added back to your taxable income.