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2013 Instructions for Form 2441 Child and Dependent Care Expenses Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service Future Developments For the latest information about developments related to Form 2441 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were published, go to www.irs.gov/ form2441. Purpose of Form If you paid someone to care for your child or other qualifying person so you (and your spouse if filing jointly) could work or look for work in 2013, you may be able to take the credit for child and dependent care expenses. You (and your spouse if filing jointly) must have earned income to take the credit. But see If You or Your Spouse Was a Student or Disabled, later. If you can take the credit, use Form 2441 to figure the amount of your credit. If you (or your spouse if filing jointly) received any dependent care benefits for 2013, you must use Form 2441 to figure the amount, if any, of the benefits you can exclude from your income on Form 1040, line 7; Form 1040A, line 7; or Form 1040NR, line 8. You must complete Part III of Form 2441 before you can figure the credit, if any, in Part II. Additional information. See Pub. 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, for more details. Definitions Dependent Care Benefits 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, The fair market value of care in a daycare facility provided or sponsored by your employer, and Pre-tax contributions you made under a dependent care flexible spending arrangement (FSA). 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 2013 Form(s) W-2. Benefits you received as a partner should be shown in box 13 of your Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) with code O. Qualifying Person(s) A qualifying person is: 1. A qualifying child under age 13 whom you can claim as a dependent. If the child turned 13 during the year, the child is a qualifying person for the part of the year he or she was under age 13. 2. Your disabled spouse who was not physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself. 3. Any disabled person who was not physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself whom you can claim as a dependent or could claim as a dependent except: a. The disabled person had gross income of $3,900 or more, b. The disabled person filed a joint return, or c. You (or your spouse if filing jointly) could be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's 2013 return. If you are divorced or separated, see Special rule for children of divorced or separated parents, below. To find out who is a qualifying child and who is a dependent, see Pub. 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information. To be a qualifying person, the person must have lived with you for more than half of 2013. Special rule for children of divorced or separated pa­ rents. Even if you cannot claim your child as a dependent, he or she is treated as your qualifying person if: The child was under age 13 or was not physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself, and You were the child's custodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights in 2013. If the child was with each parent for an equal number of nights, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income. For details and an exception for a parent who works at night, see Pub. 501. 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 rules for a child of divorced or separated parents. Qualified Expenses These include amounts paid for household services and care of the qualifying person while you worked or looked for work. Child support payments are not qualified expenses. Also, expenses reimbursed by a state social service agency are not qualified expenses unless you included the reimbursement in your income. Generally, if you worked or actively looked for work during only part of the period in which you incurred the expenses, you must figure your expenses for each day. However, there are special rules for temporary absences or part-time work. See Pub. 503 for more details. Household Services These are services needed to care for the qualifying person as well as to run the home. They include, for example, the services of a cook, maid, babysitter, housekeeper, or cleaning person if the services were CAUTION ! Oct 11, 2013 Cat. No. 10842K