How to obtain a daycare provider's EIN for child care tax credits

You're definitely not alone in this situation! Many parents don't receive tax information automatically from their childcare providers. The simplest approach is to call each daycare and just ask directly: "Hi, I'm preparing my taxes and need your EIN (or Tax ID number) to claim the child care tax credit. Could you please provide that information?" Most daycares are very familiar with this request since parents ask for it every tax season. If you're uncomfortable calling, you could also send an email with the same request, or ask in person during drop-off or pick-up time. Some daycare centers might even have this information in their parent handbook or on their website. Keep in mind that you'll also need their complete business name and address for your tax forms. And make sure to keep track of how much you paid to each provider during the tax year, as you'll need those amounts too for Form 2441 (Child and Dependent Care Expenses).

I had the exact same issue last year and was stressing about it too! I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was a huge help - they have a feature that walks you through exactly what information you need for the Child and Dependent Care Credit and how to get it. It even has templates for emails you can send to your daycare provider if you're anxious about calling. I uploaded my receipts from daycare payments and the system organized everything by provider and helped me understand exactly what information I needed to collect for each one. It even flagged that I was eligible for both the federal credit AND my state's additional child care credit that I didn't even know existed!

Just wanted to follow up and say I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread, and it was exactly what I needed! The template emails they provided made it so much easier to contact my daycare - I just copied, personalized slightly, and sent it. Got a response the same day with their EIN. The service also caught that I had been calculating my eligible expenses wrong all these years - I wasn't including day camps during school breaks, which actually qualify! Ended up getting almost $800 more back on my refund than I would have otherwise. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with child care expenses.

If you're having trouble reaching your daycare for their EIN, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I initially tried calling the IRS to verify a daycare provider's EIN that looked wrong, but kept getting stuck in their phone tree hell. Watched their demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and decided to try it out. They basically get you through to an actual human at the IRS who can verify provider information. I was shocked when I got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of the 2+ hours I waited last time I called the IRS directly. The agent was able to confirm whether the EIN my daycare gave me was correct, which gave me peace of mind since they had given me different numbers in the past.

Well I feel like an idiot now. After being really skeptical about Claimyr, I decided to try it because I was desperate to confirm my daycare's information. I had tried calling the IRS three separate times and gave up after being on hold for over an hour each time. Using the service, I got through to an actual IRS representative in about 25 minutes. The agent couldn't give me my daycare's EIN directly, but when I explained I was trying to verify the number I had was correct for tax filing purposes, they helped confirm it. Turns out the handwritten EIN my daycare provider gave me had a digit transposed, which would have caused issues with my return. Just finished filing my taxes with the correct information. Definitely saved me from a potential headache down the road!

Another approach - check last year's tax return if you claimed the same daycare! I completely forgot I had this issue last year and spent days stressing before I realized the information was already in my tax software from my previous return. Also, if you use a larger chain daycare, sometimes their corporate website will have tax information available in their parent portal or resources section. Worth checking there before making the anxious phone call!

Don't feel bad about being anxious! I messed this up my first time filing with daycare expenses and accidentally put down my employer's EIN instead of the daycare's lol. The IRS sent me a polite letter asking for the correct information. One tip: when you call, just say "Hi, I'm doing my taxes and need your tax ID number for the childcare tax credit." Every daycare knows exactly what you're asking for with that wording!

Just wanted to add that if you're really nervous about making the call, you can also visit the daycare in person during pickup/dropoff and ask at the front desk. Sometimes it's easier to have this conversation face-to-face, and they might even have a printed sheet with their tax information ready to go since this is such a common request during tax season. Also, don't worry about sounding clueless - childcare providers get asked for their EIN dozens of times every year between January and April. It's literally one of the most routine requests they handle! Most places are super understanding and will have the information ready to share immediately. If for some reason they don't have it handy, they might ask you to email them as a reminder, which actually works out great since you'll have the information in writing for your records.