John M. Hoffman & Associates CPAs

Frequently Asked Tax Questions

Child Care / Dependent Care Benefits

With the two earner society that we live in, child care is a fact of life and an expensive one at that for many people. Tax benefits for child care are one of the few tax benefits that does not have an income limit associated with it.

• "What is the difference between claiming a child care tax credit and utilitizing dependent care benefits where I work?"

• "What kind of numbers are we talking about here - day care is killing me!"

• "Which of the two works best?"

• "What are qualified child care expenses?"

• "What exactly is a qualifying person?"

• "I am divorced and now a single parent - can I claim a child care credit?"

• "I gave the information on where I spent the $5,000 to my employer - you don't need it again do you?"

Communicate this information to Hoffman at tax time on sheet 18.