Can I claim both Self-employed Sick Leave Credit & Self-employed Family Leave Credit for 2023 tax filing? Tax software calculation accuracy?

My wife and I are both running our own businesses. We've got a teenager in high school and a 3-year-old. Back in 2022, our plan was to enroll our toddler in a preschool program that spring (right when all the latest COVID wave hit). Of course, all the preschools shut down and we decided to keep our little one at home due to health concerns. This, plus having our teenager doing school from home, meant we each only worked about half the week instead of full-time. I've been doing our taxes and noticed the software mentions you can claim the self-employed sick leave credit if you had to take time off from your business to care for a child because their school or care provider wasn't available. The family leave credit has pretty much the identical definition from what I can tell. Between May 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 (the eligible period), I figured we each missed roughly 120 days of work. In a normal year, we would have each worked about 235 days on our full schedules, but we were both working half-time. I entered 120 days each for the sick leave credit, and then put in 50 days (which seems to be the maximum allowed) for the family leave credit. The crazy thing is these credits changed our tax situation completely - we went from owing around $14,750 to actually getting back about $2,350! This seems too good to be true. Am I calculating this correctly? Is it legitimate to claim both these credits since they seem to be covering the exact same situation? The definitions look practically identical to me.

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18 comments

Chloe Martin

•8M

You're actually on the right track here! These two credits were designed to work together as part of the COVID relief measures, and yes, they do sound similar because they address related issues but have different limits and calculations. The Self-employed Sick Leave Credit was specifically for when you couldn't work because you were caring for someone (like your child) whose school or care provider was unavailable due to COVID-19. This had a maximum of 10 days (80 hours). The Self-employed Family Leave Credit was for extended caregiving needs related to COVID-19 disruptions, with a maximum of 50 days (or 10 weeks) per person. While they seem redundant, they were actually designed to be complementary. Think of the sick leave credit as the "first phase" support and the family leave credit as the "extended support" for longer-term care needs. The calculations can get complicated since they're based on your self-employment income and have daily limits. Based on what you described, if both you and your spouse qualified for both credits and the software calculated a significant change in your tax situation, it's very possible the calculation is correct.

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AstroAce

•8M

Thanks for explaining the difference! So essentially the sick leave credit is for the initial period and the family leave credit extends beyond that? If I'm understanding correctly, I should actually be claiming 10 days of sick leave credit for each of us, and then 50 days of family leave credit for each of us? Rather than 120 days of sick leave? Also, do you know if these credits are still available for 2023 taxes? Since we're still dealing with some school/daycare disruptions.

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Chloe Martin

•8M

That's exactly right - the sick leave credit was intended for that initial period of up to 10 days per person, while the family leave credit extended coverage for an additional 50 days. So for each of you, the proper claim would be 10 days of sick leave credit and then up to 50 days of family leave credit (depending on your actual situation). Unfortunately, these specific COVID-related credits expired after December 31, 2022. For your 2023 taxes, these particular credits are no longer available. However, you might still qualify for the Child Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Credit, which can help offset some costs associated with raising children and paying for care so you can work.

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Diego Rojas

•8M

After struggling with these exact same credits last year, I found an amazing tool that cleared everything up for me. I was totally confused about how to calculate the right number of days and whether I could claim both credits, plus I wasn't sure if I was filling out the forms correctly. I decided to try https://taxr.ai after a friend recommended it - it's basically an AI tool that analyzes your tax documents and situation to make sure you're getting everything right. It helped me figure out exactly how many days I could claim for each credit, and confirmed I could take both (with the right limits). Their system showed me that I was miscalculating my qualified sick leave days and helped me correct it. The best part was that it explained everything in plain English instead of confusing tax jargon. It saved me from leaving money on the table with these self-employment credits.

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Diego Rojas

•8M

It absolutely works for specific credits like these! Unlike TurboTax which sometimes requires you to know what to look for, taxr.ai analyzes your entire situation and flags potential credits you might qualify for. It specifically identified both the sick leave and family leave credits in my case and walked me through the qualification criteria. For audit protection, the tool actually helps you understand what documentation you need to keep and how to properly substantiate your claim. It creates a detailed explanation of how your credits were calculated, which days qualified, and why you were eligible - basically giving you an audit trail. It's not just calculating numbers but explaining the reasoning behind them which was super helpful when I had to show my accountant why I qualified.

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Anastasia Sokolov

•8M

I was really skeptical about using an AI tax tool as I mentioned above, but I gave taxr.ai a try after seeing it recommended here and wow - it caught something major that my accountant missed. I had a similar situation with self-employment during the pandemic with kids at home, and was totally confused about these credits. The tool immediately flagged that I was eligible for both the sick leave and family leave credits but showed me the proper way to calculate the days (I was over-counting sick leave days and not claiming any family leave). It broke down exactly how many days I could claim for each credit and why, showing me the difference between the two. I ended up getting an additional $4,300 in credits I would have missed! The explanations were super clear, and it even helped me understand what documentation I needed to keep in case of an audit. Definitely worth checking out if you're self-employed and dealt with COVID disruptions.

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Zara Ahmed

•8M

I had a nightmare situation trying to get answers from the IRS about these self-employment credits last year. Called for weeks and couldn't get through to anyone who could help with my specific situation. I was worried about claiming both credits since they seemed so similar and I didn't want to get audited. Finally found https://claimyr.com and used their service to get through to an actual IRS agent. You can check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Basically they use technology to navigate the IRS phone system and get you to a real person, then call you when they have an agent on the line. The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that yes, you can claim both credits as long as you're not double-counting the same days. They explained the sick leave credit is meant for the first 10 days per person, and the family leave credit extends beyond that for up to 50 additional days. Got clarification directly from the source which gave me peace of mind when filing.

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Zara Ahmed

•8M

Yes, you really do get through to an actual IRS agent! They don't access any of your personal tax information - they just navigate the phone system and call you once they have an agent on the line. Then you join the call and speak directly with the IRS yourself. The way it works is they use technology to continuously redial and navigate the IRS phone tree until they get through to a representative. I was skeptical too, but after waiting on hold for 3+ hours multiple times and getting disconnected, I was desperate. I went from waiting weeks to speaking with someone the same day.

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Luca Esposito

•8M

Well, I'm eating my words. After calling the IRS myself for TWO WEEKS straight and never getting through, I finally tried Claimyr out of desperation. I was convinced it was some kind of scam because how could they get through when no one else can? Within 2 hours, I got a call back telling me they had an IRS agent on the line. I was shocked. The agent was able to answer all my questions about these self-employment credits and confirmed that I could indeed claim both the sick leave and family leave credits for different time periods. They explained exactly how the calculations should work and why the software was showing such a big swing in the amount owed. Saved me from making a huge mistake on my return - I was about to only claim one of the credits because I was worried about getting flagged. The peace of mind was worth every penny, and I'll definitely use this again next time I need to actually speak to someone at the IRS.

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Nia Thompson

•8M

One thing no one has mentioned yet - don't forget to apply these credits separately for EACH spouse if you're both self-employed! My wife and I both qualified but I initially only claimed them for myself. Each of you can claim up to 10 days of sick leave credit AND up to 50 days of family leave credit if you both had to reduce your work to care for your kids. Also, the amounts are calculated based on your net earnings from self-employment, so they could be different amounts for each spouse. The daily limits in 2022 were $511 per day for sick leave for your own illness and $200 per day for caring for someone else or for the family leave credit. Make sure your software is calculating both spouses' credits correctly!

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Nia Thompson

•8M

You should definitely keep documentation showing that your children's schools or care facilities were closed during the periods you're claiming. Things like emails from the school about closures, announcements from the daycare, or any formal communications about COVID-related shutdowns. Also maintain a calendar or log showing which days you had to reduce work hours to provide care. Note the days you would normally have worked but couldn't due to childcare responsibilities. And keep records of your normal work schedule pre-COVID to establish your baseline. If possible, document how your business income was affected - comparing earnings or billings from similar periods before the pandemic might help demonstrate the impact. The more documentation you have connecting the care needs to your reduced work hours, the better position you'll be in if questioned.

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Mateo Rodriguez

•8M

Has anyone else noticed that different tax software calculates these credits differently? I tried three different programs and got wildly different results. One gave me hardly any credit, another gave me a massive amount, and the third was somewhere in between. I ended up going with a professional tax preparer who specializes in self-employment taxes, and she explained that many tax software programs struggle with these specialized COVID credits because they were temporary and had complex rules.

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