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Page 2 of 7 IT-216-I (2025) If you are divorced or separated, see Special rule for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart below. To find out who is a qualifying child and who is a dependent, see federal Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. Caution: To be a qualifying person, generally, the person must have lived with you for more than half of the tax year. Special rule for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart Even if you cannot claim your child as a dependent, your child is treated as your qualifying person if: – The child was under age 13 or was physically or mentally not able to care for themself; – The child received over half of their support during the calendar year from one or both parents who are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, are separated under a written separation agreement, or lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the calendar year; – The child was in the custody of one or both parents for more than half the year; and – You were the child’s custodial parent. Generally, the custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights in the tax year. If the child was with each parent for an equal number of nights, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher FAGI. For details and an exception for a parent who works at night, see federal Publication 501. Generally, the noncustodial parent cannot treat the child as a qualifying person even if that parent is entitled to claim the child as a dependent under the Special rule for children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart. To find out when a noncustodial parent is entitled to claim the dependency exemption for a child, see federal Publication 501. Dependent care benefits – include amounts your employer paid directly to either you or your care provider for the care of your qualifying person(s) while you worked. These benefits also include the fair market value of care in a day‑care facility provided or sponsored by your employer and pre-tax contributions you made under a dependent care flexible spending arrangement. Your salary may have been reduced to pay for these benefits. If you received dependent care benefits as an employee, they should be shown in box 10 of your federal Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. Benefits you received as a partner should be shown on your Schedule K-1 (federal Form 1065, Partners Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.) If you receive dependent care benefits through your employer, you must complete Worksheet 1. Qualified expenses – include amounts paid for household services and care of the qualifying person(s) while you worked or looked for work. Child support payments are not qualified expenses. Expenses reimbursed by a state social service agency are not qualified expenses. Also, expenses paid through a dependent care account are not qualified expenses. Generally, if you worked or actively looked for work during only part of the period in which you incurred the expenses, you must calculate your expenses for each day. However, there are special rules for temporary absences or part-time work. See federal Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, for more details. Household services – are services needed to care for the qualifying person as well as to run the home while you worked or looked for work. They include, for example, the services of a cook, maid, babysitter, housekeeper, or cleaning person if the services were partly for the care of the qualifying person(s). Do not include services of a chauffeur or gardener. You may also include your share of the employment taxes paid on wages for qualifying child and dependent care services. Care of the qualifying person – includes expenses for the care of a qualifying person while you worked or looked for work only if their main purpose is for the person’s well‑being and protection. It does not include the cost of food, lodging, education, clothing, or entertainment. You may include the cost of care provided outside your home for your dependent under age 13 or any other qualifying person(s) who regularly spends at least 8 hours a day in your home. If the care was provided by a dependent care center, the center must meet all applicable state and local regulations. A dependent care center is a place that provides care for more than six persons (other than persons who live there) and receives a fee, payment, or grant for providing services for any of those persons, even if the center is not run for profit. You may include amounts paid for food and schooling only if these items are incidental to the care of the child and cannot be separated from the total cost. But do not include the cost of schooling for a child in kindergarten or above. You can include the cost of a day camp, even if it specializes in a particular activity, such as computers or soccer. But, do not include any expenses for sending your child to an overnight camp, summer school, or a tutoring program. Some dependent care expenses for a qualifying person who is disabled may qualify as medical expenses if you itemize deductions on Form IT-196, New York Resident, Nonresident, and Part-Year Resident Itemized Deductions. However, you cannot claim the same expense as both a dependent care expense and a medical expense. For more information on qualifying medical expenses, see federal Publication 503 and Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses. Prior year’s expenses – If you had qualified expenses for 2024 that you did not pay until 2025, you may be able to claim these qualified expenses and increase the amount of credit you can take in 2025. For more information, see instructions for federal Form 2441, Worksheet A, Worksheet for 2024 Expenses Paid in 2025. Also see the instructions for line 11. Earned income – Generally, this is your wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee compensation. This is the amount shown on Form IT-201, line 1, or Form IT-203, line 1, Federal amount column, reduced by any amount: – also reported on federal Schedule SE, Self-employment Tax, because you were a member of the clergy or you received $108.28 or more of church employee income; and – excluded as foreign earned income (including any housing exclusion) on your federal return. Earned income generally does not include employee compensation that is nontaxable. However, you can elect to include any nontaxable combat pay in earned income to calculate your credit. For more information, see federal Publication 503. If you were a statutory employee and are filing federal Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business, with your federal return to report income and expenses as a statutory employee, earned income also includes the amount from line 1 of that Schedule C. If you were self-employed, earned income also includes the amount shown on federal Schedule SE, line 3, less any deduction you claimed on federal Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Schedule 1, line 15. If you use either optional method to calculate self-employment tax, you must increase the above by the amount on federal Schedule SE, line 4b. If you received church employee income of $108.28 or more, you must increase the above by the amount on federal Schedule SE, lines 4b and 5a. Note: You must reduce your earned income by any loss from self-employment.