Daycare tax deduction in Florida?

Question

Hello,

I'm a single mother, anual income about 23k. I have a baby and the father pays child support and daycare expenses.
We pay 800/month for daycare.
I know I'll have a tax deduction by the end of the year, so the "net cost" of daycare will be actually less than 800/month.
Can anybody help me to "estimate" how much deduction will I have so we can calculate the net cost of daycare?

Answer 1

If the father is the one who pays the daycare expenses then he would have to be the person who could get the child care credit, not you. I have included the IRS link to the instructions to form 2441 - Child and dependent care expenses.

Just to let you know though, that you should be able to file your tax return as "head of household" because of your baby, and also with your baby you should get a Child Tax Credit of $1,000

Answer 2

Actually, if you are the one who claims the child as a dependent, at that income you aren't likely to owe any income tax by the time the child care credit is figured in, so you'd get no benefit from the credit for child care because it can only reduce your tax to zero, and yours will already be there.

If the father claims the child as a dependent, then you might still be able to take the dependent care credit, for somewhere around $900 - the smaller of your total taxes, or the credit as calculated on form 2441.

If you are the custodial parent, then you are the only one who can claim the child care credit - the non-custodial parent can't take the credit in any case, even if he's paying the bill. If he's paying you the daycare amounts and you are paying them to the provider, then you can take the credit.

Answer 3

There is no "deduction" for daycare expenses.

There is a Dependent Care Credit that you can take if you must place your child in care so that you can work. The credit is based upon your actual expenses so there is nothing that you can "estimate" that is going to do you any good. File Form 2441 with your tax return to claim the credit. The credit will reduce your tax liability but cannot reduce it to less than $0.

Here's a link to the instructions: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2441.pdf...

Here's a link to the form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2441.pdf...

However, if the father is paying these expenses, YOU cannot take the credit. You must actually pay the expenses yourself to take the credit. And unless the father is paying the expenses so HE can work, he can't claim the credit.