Easiest Childcare Tax Credit Calculator!

The Childcare Tax Credit is a valuable tax credit for families who pay for childcare. It can help offset the costs of care for a qualifying child or dependent and is based on your taxable income and the amount you spend on maintenance. It should be noted that IRC 21 covered both childcare and dependent care. The childcare tax credit calculator is for the tax year 2022 (tax filing in April 2023).

Child& dependent care tax credit calculator

What is Childcare Tax Credit Eligibility?

You must meet five requirements to qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit as given below :

• You must be paying for care for a qualifying child or dependent. 
• A qualifying child should be under 13. For the dependent, there are no age criteria.
• A child or the dependent must have lived with you for more than half of the year.
• You must also have earned income from a job or self-employment during the year. If you are married, you and your spouse must have earned income unless one spouse is a full-time student or cannot care for themselves. You can only claim the credit if you are married and file a separate return if your spouse is a full-time student or cannot care for themselves.
• In addition, the care must be provided by someone who is not your spouse or a dependent. This means that you cannot claim the credit for expenses you pay for the care provided by a family member, such as a parent or grandparent.

Finally, you must keep records of the expenses you pay for care, including the provider’s name, tax identification number, and the amount you paid.

Childcare tax credit limit in 2022?

For the tax year 2022 (filing in April 2023), taxpayers earning less than $43,000 can claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit. There is a slab for determining the child & dependent care credit threshold based on the Modified Adjusted Gross Income (refer to the amount from Form 1040 line 11). The following table provides a percentage for multiplying with the expense incurred on the care for a child below 13 years or a disabled dependent (without age consideration).

IF your adjusted gross income is:		THEN the
Over:	But not over:	percentage is:
$ 0	$15,000	35%
15,000	17,000	34%
17,000	19,000	33%
19,000	21,000	32%
21,000	23,000	31%
23,000	25,000	30%
25,000	27,000	29%
27,000	29,000	28%
29,000	31,000	27%
31,000	33,000	26%
33,000	35,000	25%
35,000	37,000	24%
37,000	39,000	23%
39,000	41,000	22%
41,000	43,000	21%
43,000	No limit	20%

How to compute the childcare tax credit?

The maximum care expenses you can claim is $3,000 for one person or $6,000 for two or more people in the tax year 2022. But , in order to know the answer of question “How much is Childcare Tax Credit Available?” , you must compute following three amounts and the least of them is your childcare tax credit :

1. Maximum expense allowed ($3,000 for one person or $6,000 for two or more people )
2. The actual Work-Related Expenses incurred Minus any care benefit you received from the employer multiplied by (%) percentage as per AGI.
3. Your earned income

How is the earned income computed?

Earned income means income generated through work by yourself, like wages, salaries, tips, other taxable employee compensation, and net earnings from self-employment. The earned income for the computation of the childcare tax credit can be computed as under :

Employed

1. If single, your salary or wages
2. If married filing jointly, the least of
   1. your salary or wages or
   2. your spouse’s salary or wages.

Self Employment Income

If self-employed, the net earning from self-employment is the earned income. If there is a loss in self-employment income as well as salary or wages, the total earned income will be reduced. If profit, it will increase the earned income.

Video on childcare tax credit

Is Childcare Tax Credit the same as the dependent care tax credit?

Answer is Yes. A taxpayer can claim tax credits under IRC 21 for childcare expenditures and expenses on the care of any eligible dependent, including spouse & parents.

Section 21 of 26 US Code (IRC) states that a qualifying individual for this tax credit can be a child below 13 years or mentally or physically challenged and dependent on the taxpayer. A dependent on a taxpayer is one who lived with you for more than half of the year and is physically or mentally unable to care for themselves. This includes elderly parents or grandparents and adult children with disabilities. So, the childcare tax credit may also be called the dependent care tax credit.

The childcare tax incentive available to a taxpayer is based on your taxable income and the amount you spend on childcare. The credit is equal to a percentage of the expenses you pay for care up to a specific limit. The rate ranges from 20% to 35%, depending on your taxable income.

What are the filing requirements for the Childcare Tax Credit claims?

To claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit, you must file Form 2441 with your tax return. This form requires information about the person who provided the following:

• The care.
• The amount you paid for care.
• The number of dependents for whom you are claiming the credit.

You must also have a tax identification number for the person who provided the care, such as a Social Security number or taxpayer identification number. 

Lastly, please do not confuse it with Child Tax Credit

The Child Tax Credit and the Childcare Tax Credit are two separate tax credits that provide different types of tax benefits to taxpayers.

1. The Child Tax Credit is a tax credit that is available to taxpayers who have dependents who are under the age of 17. You do not need to spend on care as a condition of claiming.
2. This child tax credit can be worth up to $2,000 per child. The maximum child & dependent tax credit is based on the maximum care expense that you can use to calculate is $3,000 for one dependent and $6,000 for two or more dependents.
3.  The child tax credit is partially refundable, meaning that even if you don’t owe any taxes, you can receive a refund for a portion of the credit. But, the Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit is not refundable.