Child and Dependent Care Provider

Care includes the cost of services for the qualifying person's well-being and protection. It does not include the cost of clothing and 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 6 persons (other than persons who live there) and 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 (such as food and schooling) ONLY if the items are incidental to the care of the child and cannot be separated from the total cost. But DO NOT include the cost of schooling for a child in the first grade or above. Also, DO NOT include any expenses for sending your child to an overnight camp.

You must enter the providers name, address, SSN or EIN, and the amount paid, Up to $8,000 for one qualifying person and $16,000 for two or more qualifying persons.

Due Diligence

You can show a serious and earnest effort to get the information for your child care provider by keeping in your records a Form W-10 completed by the care provider. Or you may keep one of the other sources of information listed on Form W-10. If the provider does not give you the information, complete the entries you can and include a statement explaining that the provider did not give you the information you requested. Please note that you cannot e-file when doing this.