Chowdahead Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Return is Married Filing Jointly with one dependent, and the husband makes all the money, around $46K. Spouse had no income. They paid about $3700 for daycare expenses, but the form won't calculate a credit. I've deciphered that the reason is because since the spouse had no income, then the credit is disallowed. The form clearly states that lower income of either spouse must be used in calculating the credit, if the return is MFJ. In this case the lower income is 0. I looked in the IRS 2441 instructions and it makes no mention of this reasoning. I'm assuming that the government assumes that if one spouse had no income then they should be home watching the kids? There is an exception for spouses who are a student or disabled, but that doesn't apply here. Is my reasoning above sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Child and dependent care expenses must be work-related to qualify for the credit. Expenses are considered work-related only if both of the following are true. * They allow you (and your spouse if filing jointly) to work or look for work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 No income from spouse, no child care credit. If she has no income, why do they need child care? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Either they both have to be working, or the non-working spouse has to be a full-time student, and then, FOR THE MONTHS THEY ARE ACTUALLY IN SCHOOL, they get a small amount of the credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Either they both have to be working, or the non-working spouse has to be a full-time student, and then, FOR THE MONTHS THEY ARE ACTUALLY IN SCHOOL, they get a small amount of the credit. How will you reflect that on the 2441 form? I think it is about 200 per month while on school. How will ATX calculate that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcjenkins Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 You click on line 4 and the worksheet opens up for you to enter the info for spouse who is a student or disabled. Or you can open it by clicking on the tab at the bottom for Line 4 and 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacun Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 You click on line 4 and the worksheet opens up for you to enter the info for spouse who is a student or disabled. Or you can open it by clicking on the tab at the bottom for Line 4 and 5 Thank you KC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chowdahead Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Thanks for the info. I was assuming as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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