Many people confuse the child care tax credit with the child tax credit.
This credit is completely separate and is a credit you get for amounts you paid out-of-pocket for daycare expenses WHILE you were at work. They don’t let you count it if you or your spouse wasn’t working and could have been watching the kids. If you were looking for work then you can claim it just make sure you have records of your job search.
You qualify if you had earned income and your child is less than 13 years old. You must know the care provider’s SSN or EIN. It can’t be your dependent. Basically you can’t claim the credit for monies paid to your oldest child to babysit your younger ones.
You don’t qualify if you’re married filing separately, didn’t have any earned income, filed 1040 EZ. Here’s some more info about it.
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