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may be a household employer and you may need to file Schedule H (Form 1040), Household Employment Taxes, with your tax return and pay household employment taxes. For more information on a household employer's tax responsibilities, see Schedule H (Form 1040) and its instructions, and Pub. 926, Household Employer’s Tax Guide. Column (e) Enter the total amount you actually paid in 2021 to the care provider. Also, include amounts your employer paid to a third party on your behalf. It doesn't matter when the expenses were incurred. Don't reduce this amount by any reimbursement you received. Line 2 Complete columns (a) through (c) for each qualifying person. If you have more than three qualifying persons, check the box on line 2 and attach a statement to your return with the required information. Be sure to put your name and SSN on the statement. In this situation, all the lines on line 2 of Form 2441 must be completed with information for the three people with the highest qualifying expenses. The attached statement must provide the same information for the additional qualifying people not listed on the form. The attached statement may optionally include the full list of qualifying people including the ones already listed on the form, but you should indicate which qualifying people listed on the statement are also listed on the form. Don't list a person on line 2 unless they are listed as an eligible person under Qualifying Person(s), earlier. Column (b) You must enter the qualifying person's SSN. Be sure the name and SSN entered agree with the person's social security card. Otherwise, at the time we process your return, we may reduce or disallow your credit. If the child was born and died in 2021 and didn't have an SSN, enter “Died” in column (b) and attach a copy of the child's birth certificate, death certificate, or hospital medical records. To find out how to get an SSN, see Social Security Number (SSN) in the Instructions for Form 1040. If the name or SSN on the person's social security card isn't correct, call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213. If the qualifying person has an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) or adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), see Taxpayer identification number in Pub. 503. Column (c) Enter the qualified expenses you incurred and paid in 2021 for the person listed in column (a). If you completed Part III, don't include in column (c) any benefits shown on line 28. Don't include in column (c) the following qualified expenses. CAUTION ! • Expenses you incurred in 2020 but didn't pay until 2021. Instead, see the instructions for line 9b. • Expenses you incurred in 2021 but didn't pay until 2022. You may be able to use these expenses to increase your 2022 credit. • Expenses you prepaid in 2021 for care to be provided in 2022. These expenses can only be used to figure your 2022 credit. To qualify for the credit, you must have one or more qualifying persons. You should show the expenses for each qualifying person in column (c) of line 2. The maximum amount of work-related expenses you can take into account for purposes of the credit is $16,000 if you have two or more qualifying persons even if you only incurred expenses for just one of them. For example, if you have two qualifying children, one age 3 and one age 11, and you incur $16,000 of qualifying work-related expenses for the 3-year-old, and no qualifying work-related expenses for the 11-year-old, the maximum total amount of the credit is $8,000 (50% of $16,000). In this situation, you should list $16,000 for the 3-year-old child and -0- for the 11-year-old child. The $16,000 limit would be used to compute your credit unless you have already excluded or deducted, in Part III, certain dependent care benefits paid to you (or on your behalf) by your employer. Lines 4 and 5 If filing jointly, figure your and your spouse's earned income separately. Enter your earned income on line 4 and your spouse's earned income on line 5. Earned income for figuring the credit generally includes the following amounts. 1. The amount shown on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1; or Form 1040-NR, line 1a, minus any amount: a. Included for a scholarship or fellowship grant that wasn't reported to you on a Form W-2, b. Excluded as foreign earned income (including any housing exclusion) on Form 2555, line 43, c. Also reported on Schedule SE (Form 1040) because you were a member of the clergy or you received $108.28 or more of church employee income, d. Received for work performed while an inmate in a penal institution, or e. Received as a pension or annuity from a nonqualified deferred compensation plan or a nongovernmental section 457(b) plan. This amount may be reported in box 11 of Form W-2. If you received such an amount but box 11 is blank, contact your employer for the amount received as a pension or annuity. 2. The amount shown on Schedule SE (Form 1040), line 3, minus any deduction you claim on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 15. If you use either optional method to figure self-employment tax, subtract any deduction you claim on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 15, from the total of the amounts shown on Schedule SE (Form 1040), lines 3 and 4b. If you received church employee income of $108.28 or more, subtract any deduction you claim on Schedule 1 Instructions for Form 2441 (2021) -5-