IF YOU USE A FLEX PLAN FOR CHILD CARE COSTS, READ THIS:

If your child care expenses exceed the amount

that you pay through your Flexible Spending
Account  (FSA), you may still be able to claim
the Dependent Care Credit.

The most you can fund through an FSA is $5,000,
but the credit applies to as much as $6,000 of
eligible expenses if you have two or more children
under 13 years old. 

No credit is allowed for any child care costs that
are paid through your flex plan (because you
didn’t pay taxes on that money to begin with),
but if your total costs were $6,000 or more, the
extra $1,000 would be eligible for credit, which
you would claim on Form 2441. 

That extra $1,000 deduction would add some
$200-$250 to your year-end tax refund. 

DON’T FORGET TO DEDUCT SUMMERCAMPS, TUTORING, SPORTS CAMPS…   
dependent care credit also. So if you send your
school-age child to almost any “special day camp”
for sports, computers, or drama for example,
don’t forget to deduct the cost. 
ahead” or to “catch up,” it can qualify.  Even camps
for learning better study skills, for learning to read
more quickly and with better comprehension, or
to practice better writing skills – they all qualify. 
expenses must be incurred so the parents can
work – otherwise they are “education expenses,”
which is not as good for write-off as child care. 

Remember that Day Camp costs qualify for the

Whether your student is attending a camp to “get

Remember, your child must be under 13, and

expenses must be incurred so the parents can
work – otherwise they are “education expenses,”
which is not as good for write-off as child care.