Are you using summer day camps for child care soon? Here are some tips for you to help you next winter during tax season.
First, keep in mind that summer camps can be used toward the dependent care expense deduction – as long as both spouses work or attend school. (A single parent would also have that same burden – you must have earned income or be a student in order to deduct care expenses). If you are not working, and not a student, you may not take the deduction.
Second, be sure to request the summer camp’s EIN today. You will need the EIN to complete form 2441 (dependent care expenses) and many summer camps are shut down over winter, with no one available to answer the phone. Company EINs aren’t readily available online, and most summer camps will not voluntarily include it in any formal statement to you. While you won’t receive a tax form from the day camps, a ledger of your family’s tuition charges and payments is certainly helpful for your tax preparer.
Finally, you cannot use the tuition for overnight camps toward the expense deduction. Only camps that your child attends during the day time qualify for the deduction.
After reading this, have you considered that you may have qualified for dependent care expense deductions from 2018 or 2019, and didn’t take them? We at Heritage Income Tax are able to assist you with filing an amendment and claiming that refund of taxes paid. Give us a call today (513) 900-9513.