2024 Child and Dependent Care Credit
For 2024, the Child and Dependent Care Credit is 35% (Maximum rate), $3,000 (Expense limit, one person) and $6,000 (Expense limit, two or more people).
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2023
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2023.
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum rate | 35% | 35% | +0% (+0.0%) |
| Expense limit, one person | $3,000 | $3,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Expense limit, two or more people | $6,000 | $6,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who pay for the care of a qualifying person so they can work or look for work.
What changed this year, and why
For tax year 2024, the Child and Dependent Care Credit has a maximum rate of 35%. The expense limit is $3,000 if there is one qualifying person, or $6,000 if there are two or more qualifying persons. These amounts are unchanged from 2023.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Dependent care expense headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The credit cannot exceed what you earned
The credit cannot exceed what you earned. If you are single at the end of the year, the work-related expenses you use to figure the credit cannot be more than your earned income for the year. If you are married at the end of the year, the expenses you use cannot be more than the smaller of your earned income or your spouse's earned income for the year. This rule ensures the credit is based on actual earnings. For married couples, use your spouse's earned income for the entire year, even if you were married for only part of the year. If you are legally separated or married and living apart from your spouse, you are not considered married for purposes of the earned income limit, so you use only your own income.
Earned Income Limit The amount of work-related expenses you use to figure your credit can't be more than: 1. Your earned income for the year if you are single at the end of the year, or 2. The smaller of your or your spouse's earned income for the year if you are married at the end of the year.
Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)
The exception for a student or disabled spouse
The Child and Dependent Care Credit generally requires the taxpayer (and spouse, if married) to have earned income. However, the IRS treats a spouse as having earned income for any month in which the spouse is either a full-time student or is physically or mentally unable to care for themselves. This special rule allows a married couple to qualify for the credit even if one spouse has no actual earnings, so long as the student or disabled spouse meets the condition for the relevant months. The credit is still subject to the expense limits: up to $3,000 of qualifying expenses for one qualifying person, or up to $6,000 for two or more, with a maximum credit rate of 35% for 2024. The student-or-disabled-spouse rule thus prevents the credit from being lost solely because one spouse was studying or unable to work during part or all of the year.
Rule for student-spouse or spouse not able to care for self. Your spouse is treated as having earned income for any month that he or she is: 1. A full-time student, or
Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)
Married couples generally must file jointly
The Joint Return Test is one of several requirements a taxpayer must satisfy to claim the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit. The IRS specifies that a qualifying taxpayer's filing status must be single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse. In practice, this means a married couple generally must file a joint return to be eligible for the credit. A married person who files separately cannot claim the credit unless a specific exception applies (described elsewhere in Publication 503 under filing status rules). The test does not impose a dollar threshold; it simply requires the correct return status. Failing this test disqualifies the taxpayer from the credit entirely, regardless of how much was actually spent on qualifying care. Meeting it allows the taxpayer to proceed to the remaining tests and, if all are satisfied, to calculate the credit against eligible expenses up to the applicable limit.
5. Joint Return Test. Your filing status may be single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse.
Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)
You must name the provider, or show due diligence
You must name the provider, or show due diligence. You must identify all persons or organizations that provide care for your child or dependent. Use Form 2441, Part I, to show the information. To identify the care provider, you must give the provider's name, address, and taxpayer identification number. If the care provider is an individual, the taxpayer identification number is his or her social security number or individual taxpayer identification number. If the care provider is an organization, then it is the employer identification number (EIN). You do not have to show the taxpayer identification number if the care provider is a tax-exempt organization (such as a church or school); in this case, enter "Tax-Exempt" in the space where Form 2441 asks for the number. If you cannot provide all of the information or the information is incorrect, you must be able to show that you used due diligence in trying to furnish the necessary information. You can use Form W-10 to request the required information from the care provider.
You must identify all persons or organizations that provide care for your child or dependent. Use Form 2441, Part I, to show the information.
Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)
Employer benefits shrink the expense limit
Employer dependent care benefits do not sit alongside this credit; they come out of it. Whatever you exclude or deduct from income is subtracted from the dollar limit that would otherwise apply, so the $3,000 of expenses allowed for a single qualifying person, or $6,000 for two or more, is reduced before the credit percentage of up to 35% is applied to anything. The practical effect surprises people who fund a workplace dependent care account to its ceiling: with a single qualifying person that exclusion can consume the entire limit, leaving no expenses for the credit at all, while with two or more there may still be room left over. Neither route is automatically the better one - which wins depends on your tax rate against the credit percentage - but you cannot count the same spending twice.
If you received dependent care benefits that you exclude or deduct from your income, you must subtract that amount from the dollar limit that applies to you. Your re- duced dollar limit is figured on Form 2441, Part III.
Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)
- Maximum rate
The credit can be up to 35% of your employ-
- Expense limit, one person
This limit is $3,000 if you had one qualifying person, or $6,000 if you had two or more qualifying persons.
- Expense limit, two or more people
The maximum amount of work-related expenses you can take into account for purposes of the credit is $6,000 if you have two or more qualifying persons even if you only incurred expenses for just one of them.