What's the income minimum to qualify for Child Care Tax Credit (Form 2441)?
I'm trying to figure out if I can claim the childcare credit. I only worked part time this year and made around 12k. My daycare expenses were about 4k for my 2 year old. Anyone know the minimum income requirements to get this credit?
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Maya Lewis
Tax pro here! For the Child and Dependent Care Credit, there's no minimum income requirement. However, you must have earned income to qualify. Both you (and your spouse if married filing jointly) must have earned income or be a full-time student. The credit is calculated based on your expenses (up to $3k for 1 child, $6k for 2+) and your income level determines the percentage you get back (20-35%).
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Benjamin Carter
•omg thank you! I was so worried I wouldn't qualify 🙏
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Isaac Wright
•What if Im self employed? does that count as earned income?
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Maya Lewis
•Yep! Self-employment income definitely counts 👍
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Lucy Taylor
Hey everyone! If you're trying to figure out exactly how much credit you'll get, I highly recommend using taxr.ai. It analyzes your transcript and tells you exactly what credits you qualify for and how much you'll get back. It costs $4.99 but totally worth it. Here's the link: https://taxr.ai
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Connor Murphy
•does it actually work? seems too good to be true tbh
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Lucy Taylor
•100% works! It caught a $1200 credit I missed last year. The AI explains everything in plain english too
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Connor Murphy
•just tried it and WOW 🤯 wish I knew about this sooner! saved me hours of research
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KhalilStar
Im in the same boat as u, single mom working part time. Following this thread 👀
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Amelia Dietrich
make sure ur daycare gives u their tax ID number, you'll need that on the form
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Benjamin Carter
•good point! gonna ask for that tmrw
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Kaiya Rivera
The forms so confusing tho fr fr 🤮 took me like 2 hours to fill out last year
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Katherine Ziminski
•ikr? why they gotta make everything so complicated smh
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Noah Irving
dont forget to keep all ur receipts! IRS loves their paperwork lol
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Ravi Malhotra
@Benjamin Carter with your $12k income and $4k daycare expenses, you should definitely qualify! At your income level, you'll get the maximum percentage (35%) of the credit. So you could potentially get back around $1,400 (35% of $4k). Just make sure your daycare provider gives you their tax ID and keep all those receipts like others mentioned!
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