Child and Dependent Care Expenses - For use in preparing 2020 Returns

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆

Explains the eligibility tests, calculations, and claiming steps for the child and dependent care credit for 2020 tax returns. Covers who qualifies as a person, requirements for earned income, and which work-related expenses count toward the credit, including special rules when household employees are involved. Includes limits affecting the credit amount and provides guidance on identifying care providers, completing Form 2441, and obtaining IRS tax help.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Reminders

Future developments

Personal exemption suspended

Taxpayer identification number needed for each qualifying person

You may have to pay employment taxes

Photographs of missing children

Introduction

Purpose of Publication 503

Can You Claim the Credit?

Credit requirements and filing Form 1040

Who Is a Qualifying Person?

You Must Have Earned Income

Are These Work-Related Expenses?

What’s Your Filing Status?

Care Provider Identification Test

How To Figure the Credit

Figuring total work-related expenses

Earned income limit

Dollar limit

Amount of credit

How To Claim the Credit

Do You Have Household Employees?

How To Get Tax Help

Index

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Publication 503 Cat. No. 15004M Child and Dependent Care Expenses For use in preparing 2020 Returns | | | | --- | --- | | Get forms and other information faster and easier at: | | | • [IRS.gov](IRS.gov) (English)
• [IRS.gov/Spanish](IRS.gov/Spanish) (Español)
• [IRS.gov/Chinese](IRS.gov/Chinese) (中文) | • [IRS.gov/Korean](IRS.gov/Korean) (한국어)
• [IRS.gov/Russian](IRS.gov/Russian) (Pусский)
• [IRS.gov/Vietnamese](IRS.gov/Vietnamese) (TiếngViệt) | Contents Reminders ............................... 1 Introduction .............................. 2 Can You Claim the Credit? ................... 2 Who Is a Qualifying Person? ................ 3 You Must Have Earned Income .............. 4 Are These Work-Related Expenses? .......... 6 What’s Your Filing Status? ................. 8 Care Provider Identification Test ............. 9 How To Figure the Credit .................... 9 Figuring Total Work-Related Expenses ........ 9 Earned Income Limit ..................... 11 Dollar Limit ............................ 12 Amount of Credit ....................... 12 How To Claim the Credit ................... 13 Do You Have Household Employees? ......... 13 How To Get Tax Help ...................... 16 Index .................................. 20 Reminders Future developments. For the latest information about developments related to Pub. 503, such as legislation enacted after it was published, [go to](go to IRS.gov/Pub503)[ ](go to IRS.gov/Pub503)[IRS.gov/Pub503](go to IRS.gov/Pub503) . Personal exemption suspended. For 2020, you can’t claim a personal exemption for yourself, your spouse, or your dependents. Taxpayer identification number needed for each qualifying person. You must include on line 2 of Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, the name and taxpayer identification number (generally, the social security number) of each qualifying person. See Taxpayer identification number under Who Is a Qualifying Person, 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 aren't 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 Do You Have Household Employees, later. Photographs of missing children. The IRS is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) . 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. Introduction 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 isn't 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 all or part of them from your income. You must complete Form 2441, Part III, 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 send us comments through [IRS.gov/](IRS.gov/)[ ](IRS.gov/)[FormComments](FormComments. Or you can write to: Internal Revenue)[. Or you can

FAQs

Who may claim the child and dependent care credit for 2020?

You may claim the credit if you pay for care of a dependent under age 13 or for your spouse or dependent who can’t care for himself or herself, and the expenses are paid so you can work or look for work.

What earned income is required for the credit?

You must have earned income, since the publication includes an earned income limit that affects how the credit is calculated.

Do household employment rules apply?

Yes. If you pay someone to care for your dependent or spouse in your home, you may be a household employer and may have to pay employment taxes, which are addressed in the section on household employees.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆