U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

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Page 1 of 3 of 2006 Instructions for Schedule 2 (Form 1040A)

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Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

2006 Instructions for Schedule 2 (Form 1040A)
If you paid someone to care for your child or other qualifying person so you (and your
spouse if filing a joint return) could work or look for work in 2006, you may be able to take
Child and
the credit for child and dependent care expenses. You (and your spouse if filing a joint
must have earned income to take the credit. (See the instructions for line 5.) If you
Dependent Care return)
can take the credit, use Schedule 2 to figure the amount of your credit.
If you (or your spouse if filing a joint return) received any dependent care benefits for
2006, you must use Schedule 2 to figure the amount, if any, of the benefits you may exclude
Expenses for
from your income on Form 1040A, line 7. You must complete Part III of Schedule 2 before
you can figure the credit, if any, in Part II.
Form 1040A
See Pub. 503 for more details.
Filers
Additional information.

Qualified expenses. These include amounts paid for household

Definitions
Dependent care benefits. These 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 daycare facility provided or sponsored by your employer. Your salary may have been reduced to pay
for these benefits. If you received dependent care benefits, they
should be shown in box 10 of your 2006 Form(s) W-2.
Qualifying person(s). A qualifying person is:

• 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.
• Your disabled spouse who is not able to care for himself or
herself.
• Any disabled person not able to care for himself or herself
whom you can claim as a dependent (or could claim as a dependent
except that the person had gross income of $3,300 or more or filed a
joint return.)
• Any disabled person not able to care for himself or herself
whom you could claim as a dependent except that you (or your
spouse if filing a joint return), could be claimed as a dependent on
someone else’s 2006 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 2006. Special rules may
apply for people who had to relocate because of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. See Pub. 4492 for details.
Special rule for children of divorced or separated parents.
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 physically or mentally not
able to care for himself or herself, and
• You were the child’s custodial parent (the parent with whom
the child lived for the greater part of 2006).

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.

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.
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 partly for the care of the qualifying person. Do not include services of a chauffeur or gardener.

You can also include your share of the employment taxes paid
on wages for qualifying child and dependent care services.
Care of the qualifying person. Care includes the cost of services
for the qualifying person’s well-being and protection. It does not
include the cost of clothing or entertainment.

You can include the cost of care provided outside your home for
your dependent under age 13 or any other qualifying person 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 can include amounts paid for items other than the care of
your child (such as food and schooling) only if the 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 soccer. But, do not include any expenses for sending your child to an overnight camp.
Medical expenses. Some disabled spouse and dependent care
expenses may qualify as medical expenses if you itemize deductions. But you must use Form 1040. However, you cannot claim the
same expense as both a dependent care expense and a medical expense. See Pub. 502 and Pub. 503 for details.

Who Can Take the Credit or Exclude
Dependent Care Benefits?
You can take the credit or the exclusion if all five of the following
apply.

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1. Your filing status is single, head of household, qualifying
widow(er), or married filing jointly. But see Married persons filing
separate returns below.
2. The care was provided so you (and your spouse if filing a joint
return) could work or look for work. However, if you did not find a
job and have no earned income for the year, you cannot take the
credit or the exclusion. But if your spouse was a student or disabled,
see the instructions for line 5.
3. The care was for one or more qualifying persons.
4. The person who provided the care was not your spouse, the
parent of your qualifying child under age 13, or a person whom you
can claim as a dependent. If your child provided the care, he or she
must have been age 19 or older by the end of 2006.
5. You report the required information about the care provider
on line 1 and, if taking the credit, the information about the qualifying person on line 2.
Married persons filing separate returns. If your filing status is

married filing separately and all of the following apply, you are
considered unmarried for purposes of figuring the credit and the
exclusion on Schedule 2.
• You lived apart from your spouse during the last 6 months of
2006.
• The qualifying person lived in your home more than half of
2006.
• You provided over half the cost of keeping up your home.
If you meet all the requirements to be treated as unmarried and
meet items 2 through 5 listed earlier, you can take the credit or the
exclusion. If you do not meet all the requirements to be treated as
unmarried, you cannot take the credit. However, you can take the
exclusion if you meet items 2 through 5.

Part I
Persons or Organizations Who Provided the
Care
Line 1
Complete columns (a) through (d) for each person or organization
that provided the care. You can use Form W-10 or any other source
listed in its instructions to get the information from the care provider. If you do not give correct or complete information, your
credit (and exclusion, if applicable) may be disallowed unless you
can show you used due diligence in trying to get the required information.
Due diligence. You can show a serious and earnest effort (due dili-

gence) to get the information by keeping in your records a Form
W-10 completed by the care provider. Or you may keep one of the
other sources of information listed in the instructions for Form
W-10. If the provider does not give you the information, complete
the entries you can on line 1. For example, enter the provider’s
name and address. Enter “See Page 2” in the columns for which you
do not have the information. Then, on the bottom of page 2, explain
that the provider did not give you the information you asked for.
Columns (a) and (b). Enter the care provider’s name and address. If

you were covered by your employer’s dependent care plan and your
employer furnished the care (either at your workplace or by hiring a
care provider), enter your employer’s name in column (a). Next,
enter “See W-2” in column (b). Then, leave columns (c) and (d)
blank. But if your employer paid a third party (not hired by your
employer) on your behalf to provide the care, you must give information on the third party in columns (a) through (d).

Column (d). Enter the total amount you actually paid in 2006 to the

care provider. Also, include amounts your employer paid to a third
party on your behalf. It does not matter when the expenses were
incurred. Do not reduce this amount by any reimbursement you
received.

Part II
Credit for Child and Dependent Care
Expenses
Line 2
Complete columns (a) through (c) for each qualifying person. If you
have more than two qualifying persons, attach a statement to your
return with the required information. Be sure to put your name and
social security number (SSN) on the statement. Also, enter “See
Attached” in the space to the left of line 3.
Column (a). Enter each qualifying person’s name.
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 person was born and died in 2006 and
did not have an SSN, enter “Died” in column (b) and attach a copy
of the person’s birth certificate. To find out how to get an SSN, see
Social Security Number (SSN) on page 18 of the Form 1040A instructions. If the name or SSN on the person’s social security card is
not correct, call the Social Security Administration at
1-800-772-1213.
Column (c). Enter the qualified expenses you incurred and paid in
2006 for the person listed in column (a). Prepaid expenses are
treated as paid in the year the care is provided. Do not include in
column (c) qualified expenses:
• You incurred in 2006 but did not pay until 2007. You may be
able to use these expenses to increase your 2007 credit.
• You incurred in 2005 but did not pay until 2006. Instead, see
the instructions for line 9.
• You prepaid in 2006 for care to be provided in 2007. These
expenses can only be used to figure your 2007 credit.

If you paid qualified expenses for the care of two or
more qualifying persons, the $6,000 limit does not need
to be divided equally. For example, if you incurred and
paid $2,500 of qualifying expenses for the care of one
qualifying person and $3,500 for the care of another qualifying person, you can use the total, $6,000, to figure the credit.

TIP

Line 4
Earned income for figuring the credit includes the following
amounts. If filing a joint return, figure your and your spouse’s
earned income separately.
1. The amount shown on Form 1040A, line 7, minus (a) any
amount included for a scholarship or fellowship grant that was not
reported to you on a Form W-2, and (b) any amount 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 your 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. Certain nontaxable earned income such as meals and lodging
provided for the convenience of your employer and nontaxable
combat pay. See Pub. 503 for details.

Column (c). If the care provider is an individual, enter his or her

Special Situations

social security number (SSN). Otherwise, enter the provider’s employer identification number (EIN). If the provider is a tax-exempt
organization, enter “Tax-Exempt.”

If you are filing a joint return, disregard community property laws.
If your spouse died in 2006, see Pub. 503. If your spouse was a
student or disabled in 2006, see the instructions for line 5.

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Line 5

Line 15

Spouse who was a student or disabled. Your spouse was a student

Add the amounts on lines 12 and 13 and subtract from that total, the
amount on line 14. Enter the result on line 15.

if he or she was enrolled as a full-time student at a school during
any 5 months of 2006. A school does not include an on-the-job
training course, correspondence school, or a school offering courses
only through the Internet. Your spouse was disabled if he or she was
not capable of self-care. Figure your spouse’s earned income on a
monthly basis.
For each month or part of a month your spouse was a student or
disabled, he or she is considered to have worked and earned income. His or her earned income for each month is considered to be
at least $250 ($500 if more than one qualifying person was cared for
in 2006). If your spouse also worked during that month, use the
higher of $250 (or $500) or his or her actual earned income for that
month. If, in the same month, both you and your spouse were either
students or disabled, only one of you can be treated as having
earned income in that month.
For any month that your spouse was not a student or disabled,
use your spouse’s actual earned income if he or she worked during
the month.

Special rules may apply for people who had to relocate
because of Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. See Pub.
4492 for details.

Line 9
Credit for prior year’s expenses. If you had qualified expenses for

2005 that you did not pay until 2006, you may be able to increase
the amount of your 2006 credit. To figure the credit, see the worksheet under Amount of Credit in Pub. 503. If you can take a credit
for your 2005 expenses, enter the amount of the credit and “CPYE”
in the space to the left of line 9. Also, enter the name and social
security number of the person for whom you paid the prior year’s
expenses next to this amount. Then, add the credit to the amount on
line 9 and replace the amount on line 9 with that total. Also, attach a
statement showing how you figured the credit.

Line 16
Enter the total of all qualified expenses incurred in 2006 for the care
of your qualifying person(s). It does not matter when the expenses
were paid.
Example. You received $2,000 in cash under your employer’s
dependent care plan for 2006. The $2,000 is shown in box 10 of
your Form W-2. Only $900 of qualified expenses were incurred in
2006 for the care of your 5-year-old dependent child. You would
enter $2,000 on line 12 and $900 on line 16.

Line 18
Earned income for figuring the amount of dependent care benefits
you are able to exclude from your income includes the following
amounts. If filing a joint return, figure your and your spouse’s
earned income separately.
1. The amount shown on Form 1040A, line 7, minus (a) any
amount included for a scholarship or fellowship grant that was not
reported to you on a Form W-2, and (b) any amount 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 your 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. Nontaxable combat pay if you elect to include it in earned
income. However, including this income will only give you a larger
exclusion if your (or your spouse’s) other earned income is less than
the amount entered on line 17. To make the election, include all of
your nontaxable combat pay in the amount you enter on line 18 (line
19 for your spouse if filing jointly). If you are filing a joint return
and both you and your spouse received nontaxable combat pay, you
can each make your own election. The amount of your nontaxable
combat pay should be shown in box 12 of Form(s) W-2 with
code Q.

For purposes of line 18, earned income does not include
any dependent care benefits shown on line 12.

Part III
Dependent Care Benefits
Line 13

Special Situations

If you had an employer-provided dependent care plan, your employer may have permitted you to carry forward any unused amount
from 2005 to use during a grace period in 2006. Enter on line 13 the
amount you carried forward and used in 2006 during the grace period.

If you are filing a joint return, disregard community property laws.
If your spouse died in 2006, see Pub. 503. If your spouse was a
student or disabled in 2006, see the instructions for line 5.

Line 14
If you had an employer-provided dependent care plan, enter on line
14 the total of the following amounts included on line 12.
• Any amount you forfeited. You forfeited an amount if you did
not receive it because you did not incur the expense. Do not include
amounts you expect to receive at a future date.
• Any amount you did not receive but are permitted by your
employer to carry forward and use in the following year during a
grace period.
Example. Under your employer’s dependent care plan, you
chose to have your employer set aside $5,000 to cover your 2006
dependent care expenses. The $5,000 is shown in box 10 of your
Form W-2. In 2006, you incurred and were reimbursed for $4,950
of qualified expenses. You would enter $5,000 on line 12 and $50,
the amount forfeited, on line 14. You would also enter $50 on line
14 if, instead of forfeiting the amount, your employer permitted you
to carry the $50 forward to use during the grace period in 2007.

Line 19
If your filing status is married filing separately, see Married persons
filing separate returns on page 2. Are you considered unmarried
under that rule?

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Yes.

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No.

Sch. 2-3

Enter your earned income (from line 18) on line
19. On line 21, enter the smaller of the amount
from line 20 or $5,000.
Enter your spouse’s earned income on line 19. If
your spouse was a student or disabled in 2006,
see the instructions for line 5. On line 21, enter
the smaller of the amount from line 20 or $2,500.