U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

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Instructions for Form 2441

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8:12 - 10-NOV-2008

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2008

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Form 2441
Child and Dependent Care Expenses
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 2008,
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 Spouse Who Was a
Student or Disabled on page 3. 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 2008, you must use Form
2441 to figure the amount, if any, of
the benefits you may exclude from
your income on Form 1040, 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 2008
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:
• 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
physically or mentally able to care for
himself or herself.
• Any disabled person who is 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 that the
person had gross income of $3,500
or more or filed a joint return.)
• Any disabled person who is not
physically or mentally able to care for
himself or herself whom you could
claim as a dependent except that you
(or your spouse if filing jointly), could
be claimed as a dependent on
another taxpayer’s 2008 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.

!

CAUTION

To be a qualifying person, the
person must have lived with
you for more than half of

2008.
Special rules may apply for
TIP people who had to relocate
because of the Midwestern
storms, tornadoes, or flooding. For
details, see Pub. 4492-B.
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
2008).
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
Cat. No. 10842K

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
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

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Instructions for Form 2441

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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, summer
school, or a tutoring program.

Medical Expenses
Some disabled spouse and
dependent care expenses may
qualify as medical expenses if you
itemize deductions on Schedule A
(Form 1040). However, you cannot
claim the same expense as both a
dependent care expense and a
medical expense. See Pub. 502,
Medical and Dental Expenses, 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.
1. Your filing status is single, head
of household, qualifying widow(er)
with dependent child, or married filing
jointly. But see Married Persons Filing
Separately on this page.
2. The care was provided so you
(and your spouse if filing jointly) 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.
Note. Child support payments
received by you are not included in
your gross income and are not
considered as earned income for
figuring this credit.
3. The care must be for one or
more qualifying persons.
4. The person who provided the
care was not your spouse, the parent
of your qualifying child, 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 2008, and he or she
cannot be your dependent.
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
Separately
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 Form 2441.
• You lived apart from your spouse
during the last 6 months of 2008,

• The qualifying person lived in your

home more than half of 2008, and
• 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.

Line Instructions
Line 1
Complete columns (a) through (d) for
each person or organization that
provided the care. You can use Form
W-10, Dependent Care Provider’s
Identification and Certification, 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.
If you have more than two care
providers, 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”
right above the Caution under line 1.

Due Diligence
You can show a serious and earnest
effort (due diligence) 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 Attached Statement” in the
columns for which you do not have
the information. Then, attach a
statement to your return explaining
that the provider did not give you the
information you requested.

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
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give information on the third party in
columns (a) through (d).

Column (c)
If the care provider is an individual,
enter his or her social security
number (SSN). Otherwise, enter the
provider’s employer identification
number (EIN). If the provider is a
tax-exempt organization, enter
“Tax-Exempt” in column (c).
U.S. citizens and resident aliens
living abroad. If you are living
abroad, your care provider may not
have, and may not be required to get,
a U.S. taxpayer identification number
(for example, an SSN or EIN). If so,
enter “LAFCP” (Living Abroad
Foreign Care Provider) in the space
for the care provider’s taxpayer
identification number.

Column (d)
Enter the total amount you actually
paid in 2008 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.

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” on the
dotted line next to line 3.

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 2008 and
did not 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) on
page 14 of the Form 1040
instructions or Identifying number in
the Form 1040NR 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 2008 for the
person listed in column (a). Prepaid
expenses are treated as paid in the

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Instructions for Form 2441

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year the care is provided. Do not
include in column (c) qualified
expenses:
• You incurred in 2008 but did not
pay until 2009. You may be able to
use these expenses to increase your
2009 credit.
• You incurred in 2007 but did not
pay until 2008. Instead, see the
instructions for line 9 on this page.
• You prepaid in 2008 for care to be
provided in 2009. These expenses
can only be used to figure your 2009
credit.
If you paid qualified expenses
TIP for the care of two or more
qualifying persons, the $6,000
limit does not need to be divided
equally. For example, if you paid and
incurred $2,500 of qualified 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.

Line 4
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. If your spouse was a student
or disabled, see the instructions for
line 5.
Earned income for figuring the
credit includes the following amounts.
1. The amount shown on Form
1040, line 7, or Form 1040NR, line 8,
minus any amount:
a. Included for a scholarship or
fellowship grant that was not reported
to you on a Form W-2,
b. 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,
c. Received for work performed
while an inmate in a penal institution,
and
d. 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, line 3, minus any
deduction you claim on Form 1040,
line 27. If you use either optional
method to figure self-employment tax,
subtract any deduction you claim on
Form 1040, line 27, from the total of
the amounts shown on Schedule SE,
Section B, lines 3 and 4b. If you
received church employee income of
$108.28 or more, subtract any
deduction you claim on Form 1040,

line 27, from the total of the amounts
shown on Schedule SE, Section B,
lines 3, 4b, and 5a.
3. If you are filing Schedule C or
C-EZ (Form 1040) as a statutory
employee, the amount shown on line
1 of the schedule.
4. Nontaxable combat pay, if you
elect to include it in earned income.
However, including this income will
only give you a larger credit if your (or
your spouse’s) other earned income
is less than the amount entered on
line 3. To make the election, include
all of your nontaxable combat pay in
the amount you enter on line 4 (line 5
for your spouse if filing jointly). If you
are filing jointly 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 your Form(s) W-2
with code Q.
You can choose to include
TIP your nontaxable combat pay
in earned income when
figuring your credit, even if you
choose not to include it in earned
income for the earned income credit
(EIC) or the exclusion or deduction
for child and dependent care benefits.

!

CAUTION

You must reduce your earned
income by any loss from
self-employment.

Special Situations
If you are filing jointly, disregard
community property laws. If your
spouse died in 2008, see Pub. 503. If
your spouse was a full-time student
or disabled in 2008, see the
instructions for line 5.

Line 5
Spouse Who Was a Student or
Disabled
Your spouse was a student if he or
she was enrolled as a full-time
student at a school during any 5
months of 2008. 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 physically or
mentally 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 was
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 2008). If your
spouse also worked during that
-3-

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
TIP people who had to relocate
because of the Midwestern
storms, tornadoes, or flooding. For
details, see Pub. 4492-B.

Line 9
Credit for Prior Year’s
Expenses
If you had qualified expenses for
2007 that you did not pay until 2008,
you may be able to increase the
amount of credit you can take in
2008. To figure the credit, see the
worksheet under Amount of Credit in
Pub. 503. If you can take a credit for
your 2007 expenses, enter the
amount of the additional credit and
“CPYE” on the dotted line next to line
9. Add the credit to the amount on
line 9 and replace the amount on line
9 with that total. Also, attach a
statement to your tax return showing
the name and taxpayer identification
number of the person for whom you
paid the prior year’s expenses and
how you figured the credit.

Line 15
If you had an employer-provided
dependent care plan, your employer
may have permitted you to carry
forward any unused amount from
2007 to use during a grace period in
2008. Enter on line 15 the amount
you carried forward and used in 2008
during the grace period.

Line 16
If you had an employer-provided
dependent care plan, enter on line 16
the total of the following amounts
included on line 14.
• 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 2008 dependent care
expenses. The $5,000 is shown in
box 10 of your Form W-2. In 2008,

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Instructions for Form 2441

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you incurred and were reimbursed for
$4,950 of qualified expenses. You
would enter $5,000 on line 14 and
$50, the amount forfeited, on line 16.
You would also enter $50 on line 16
if, instead of forfeiting the amount,
your employer permitted you to carry
the $50 forward to use during the
grace period in 2009.

Line 17
Add the amounts on lines 14 and 15
and subtract from that total, the
amount on line 16. Enter the result on
line 17.

Line 18
Enter the total of all qualified
expenses incurred in 2008 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 2008. The
$2,000 is shown in box 10 of your
Form W-2. Only $900 of qualified
expenses were incurred in 2008 for
the care of your 5-year-old dependent
child. You would enter $2,000 on
line 14 and $900 on line 18.

Line 20
If filing jointly, figure your and your
spouse’s earned income separately.
Enter your earned income on line 20
and your spouse’s earned income on
line 21. If your filing status is married
filing separately or your spouse was a
student or disabled, see the
instructions for line 21.
Earned income for figuring the
amount of dependent care benefits
you are able to exclude or deduct
from your income includes the
following amounts.
1. The amount shown on Form
1040, line 7, or Form 1040NR, line 8,
minus any amount:
a. Included for a scholarship or
fellowship grant that was not reported
to you on a Form W-2,
b. 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,
c. Received for work performed
while an inmate in a penal institution,
and
d. 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, line 3, minus any
deduction you claim on Form 1040,
line 27. If you use either optional
method to figure self-employment tax,
subtract any deduction you claim on
Form 1040, line 27, from the total of
the amounts shown on Schedule SE,
Section B, lines 3 and 4b. If you
received church employee income of
$108.28 or more, subtract any
deduction you claim on Form 1040,
line 27, from the total of the amounts
shown on Schedule SE, Section B,
lines 3, 4b, and 5a.
3. If you are filing Schedule C or
C-EZ (Form 1040) as a statutory
employee, the amount shown on line
1 of the schedule.
4. Nontaxable combat pay, if you
elect to include it in earned income.
However, including this income will
only give you a larger exclusion or
deduction if your (or your spouse’s)
other earned income is less than the
amount entered on line 19. To make
the election, include all of your
nontaxable combat pay in the amount
you enter on line 20 (line 21 for your
spouse if filing jointly). If you are filing
jointly 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 your Form(s) W-2 with code Q.
You can choose to include
TIP your nontaxable combat pay
in earned income when
figuring your exclusion or deduction,
even if you choose not to include it in
earned income for the earned income
credit (EIC) or the credit for child and
dependent care expenses.
For purposes of line 20,
earned income does not
CAUTION include any dependent care
benefits shown on line 14.
You must reduce your earned
income by any loss from
CAUTION self-employment.

!
!

Special Situations
If you are filing jointly, disregard
community property laws. If your

-4-

spouse died in 2008, see Pub. 503. If
your spouse was a full-time student
or disabled in 2008, see the
instructions for line 5.

Line 21
If your filing status is married filing
separately, see Married Persons
Filing Separately on page 2. Are you
considered unmarried under that
rule?
❏

Yes. Enter your earned income
(from line 20) on line 21. On
line 25, enter $5,000.

❏

No. Enter your spouse’s earned
income on line 21. If your spouse
was a full-time student or disabled
in 2008, see the instructions for line
5. On line 25, enter $2,500.

Line 26
Include your deductible benefits in the
total entered on Schedule C, line 14;
Schedule E, line 18 or line 28; or
Schedule F, line 17; whichever
applies.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice.
We ask for the information on this
form to carry out the Internal
Revenue laws of the United States.
You are required to give us the
information. We need it to ensure that
you are complying with these laws
and to allow us to figure and collect
the right amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the
information requested on a form that
is subject to the Paperwork Reduction
Act unless the form displays a valid
OMB control number. Books or
records relating to a form or its
instructions must be retained as long
as their contents may become
material in the administration of any
Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are
confidential, as required by Internal
Revenue Code section 6103.
The average time and expenses
required to complete and file this form
will vary depending on individual
circumstances. For the estimated
averages, see the instructions for
your income tax return.
If you have suggestions for making
this form simpler, we would be happy
to hear from you. See the instructions
for your income tax return.