Dependent care expense headroom, 2024
This works out one number from the Child and Dependent Care Credit figures published for 2024. Every amount it uses is below, with the document it was read from. What you enter is your own: this site has no way to check it, and the answer it produces is not a published figure.
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Publication 503 (2024), Child and Dependent Care Expenses (IRS)Verified 2026-09-01
How it is worked out
The published amount less the amount you enter, rounded to the nearest cent. Where what you enter is the larger of the two, the answer is nothing rather than a negative amount.
How many people you paid care for, from the 2 this year publishes: Expense limit, one person ($3,000), Expense limit, two or more people ($6,000). The calculator uses the one you pick and says which.
Figures in this colour are computed from the amounts above. They are not published figures and no document states them.
Work it out
The live calculator needs JavaScript. The table below covers common amounts and is computed the same way.
Worked out for common amounts
| Care expenses paid so far this year | Expense limit, one person | Expense limit, two or more people |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| 1,000 | $2,000 | $5,000 |
| 3,000 | $0 | $3,000 |
| 6,000 | $0 | $0 |
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)
- 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.
Every 2024 Child and Dependent Care Credit figure · Child and Dependent Care Credit in every year · Every calculator on this site