Now that most schools are out for the summer, you might be sending your children to day camp. It’s often a significant expense. The good news: you might be eligible for a tax break for the cost.
The Value of a Credit
Day camp is a qualified expense under the child and dependent care credit, which is worth 20% to 35% of qualifying expenses, subject to a cap. Note: sleep-away camp does not qualify.
For 2019, the maximum credit amount is $3,000 for one qualifying child and $6,000 for two or more. Other expenses eligible for the credit include payments to a daycare center, nanny or nursery school.
Keep in mind that tax credits are especially valuable because they reduce you tax liability dollar-for-dollar— $1 of tax credit saves you $1 of taxes. This differs from deductions, which simply reduce the amount of income subject to tax.
For example, if you’re in the 32% tax bracket, $1 of deduction saves you only $0.32 of taxes. So it’s important to take minimum advantage of all tax credits available to you.
Work- Related Expenses
For an expense to qualify for the credit, it must be related to employment. In other words, it must enable you and your spouse to work— or look for work if you’re unemployed. It must also be for the care of your child, stepchild, foster child or other qualifying relative who is under age 13, lives in your home for more than half the year and meets other requirements.
There’s no age limit if the dependent child is physically or mentally unable to care for him or herself. Special rules apply if the child’s parents are divorced or separated or if the parents live apart.
Credit vs FSA
If you participate in an employer- sponsored child and dependent care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you can’t use expenses paid from or reimbursed by the FSA to claim the credit.
If your employer offers a child and dependent care FSA, you may wish to consider participating in the FSA instead of taking the credit. With an FSA for child and dependent care, you can contribute up to $5,000 on a pretax basis. If your marginal tax rate is more than 15%, participating in the FSA is more beneficial at your highest tax rate, while the credit rate for taxpayers with adjusted gross income over $43,000 is limited to 20%.
Providing Your Eligibility
On your tax return, you must include the Social Security number of each child who attended the camp or received care. There’s no credit without it. You must also identify the organizations or persons that provided care for your child. So make sure to obtain the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the camp or care provider.
Additional rules apply to the child and dependent care credit. Contact your DDK tax advisory for further inquiries!
