Publication 503 - Introductory Material
Taxpayer identification number needed for each qualifying person. You must include on line 2 of Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, or Schedule 2 (Form 1040A), Child and Dependent
Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers, the name and taxpayer identification number (generally the social security number) of
each qualifying person. See Taxpayer identification number under Qualifying Person Test, later.
You may have to pay employment taxes. If you pay someone to come to your home and care for your dependent or spouse, you may be a household employer who has to
pay employment taxes. Usually, you are not a household employer if the person who cares for your dependent or spouse does
so at his or her home or place of business. See Employment Taxes for Household Employers, later.
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of
missing children selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help
bring these children home by looking at the photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
This publication explains the tests you must meet to claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses. It explains how
to figure and claim the credit.
You may be able to claim the credit if you pay someone to care for your dependent who is under age 13 or for your spouse or
dependent who is not able to care for himself or herself. The credit can be up to 35% of your expenses. To qualify, you must
pay these expenses so you can work or look for work.
This publication also discusses some of the employment tax rules for household employers.
Dependent care benefits.
If you received any dependent care benefits from your employer during the year, you may be able to exclude from your
income all or part of them. You must complete Part III of Form 2441 or Schedule 2 (Form 1040A) before you can figure the amount
of your credit. See
Dependent Care Benefits under
How To Figure the Credit, later.
Comments and suggestions.
We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.
You can write to us at the following address:
Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6526
Washington, DC 20224
We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number,
including the area code, in your correspondence.
You can email us at
*taxforms@irs.gov. (The asterisk must be included in the address.) Please put “
Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your feedback and will consider
your comments as we revise our tax products.
Ordering forms and publications.
Visit
www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the address below and receive a response within 10 days
after your request is received.
Internal Revenue Service
1201 N. Mitsubishi Motorway
Bloomington, IL 61705-6613
Tax questions.
If you have a tax question, check the information available on
www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to either of the above addresses.
Useful Items - You may want to see:
Publication
-
501
Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
-
926
Household Employer's Tax Guide
Form (and Instructions)
-
2441
Child and Dependent Care Expenses
-
Schedule 2 (Form 1040A)
Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A Filers
-
Schedule H (Form 1040)
Household Employment Taxes
-
W-10
Dependent Care Provider's Identification and Certification
See How To Get Tax Help, near the end of this publication, for information about getting these publications and forms.
