com 2441 Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses | _OMB No. 7545-0068

Attach to Form 1040. 1 984

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service > See Instructions below.
Name(s) as shown on Form 1040 Your social security number
1 Write the number of aualving persons who were cared for in 1984. (See the instructions below for the definition of
qualifying persons.) . . re ai 3
2 If payments listed on line 3 were e made to an individual, complete the: following: Yes |No
alfyou paid $50 or more in a calendar quarter to an individual, were the services performed in your home? . 2a
b if “Yes,” have you filed appropriate wage tax returns on wages for services in your home (see instructions for line 2 (2b
c If the answer to bis ‘‘Yes,”’ write your employer identificationnumber. . . . . . . . . «PR | 2¢
3 Write the amount of qualified expenses you incurred and actually paid in 1984, but do not write more
than $2,400 ($4,800 if you paid for the care of two or more qualifying persons) . 3
4 You must write your earned income on line 4. See the instructions for line 4 forthe definition of eamed
income.
© If you were unmarried at the end of 1984, write your earned income on line 4, OR
© If you are married, filing a joint return for 1984,
a write your earned income $ .
b write your spouse’s earned income $ -
© compare amounts on lines 4a and 4b, and write the smaller of the two amounts online 4. . 4
5 Compare amounts on lines 3 and 4, and write the smaller of the two amounts on line 5. . 5
6 Write the percentage from the table below that applies to the adjusted gross income on Form 1040,
line33. 2... rn . toe ee ee ee LE
Ifline 3 is: Percentage is: it line 33 is: ‘Percentage is:
Over— But not Over— — Butnot
over— over—
0-$10,000 30% (.30) $20,000-22,000 24% (.24)
$10,000-12,000 29% (.29) 22,000-24,000 23% (.23)
12,000-14,000 28% (.28) 24,000-26,000 22% (.22)
14,000-16,000 27% (.27) 26,000-28,000 21% (.21)
16,000-18,000 26% (.26) 28,000 20% (.20)
18,000-20,000 25% (.25)
7 Multiply the amount on line 5 by the percentage shown on line 6, and write the result. 7
8 Multiply any child and dependent care expenses for 1983 that you paid in 1984 by the percentage that
applies to the adjusted gross income on Form 1040, line 33, for 1983. Write the result. See line 8
instructions for the required statement.) . . . L&
9 Add amounts on lines 7 and 8. Write the total here and on nForm 1040, line 41. “This isthe m maximum
amount of your credit for child and dependent care expenses... .| 9
General Instructions Additional infomation —For er more a ‘Giren of divorced or, Separated mn
- information about the credit, ce arents.—If you were divorced,
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice ne’ Publication 503, Child and Dependent Separated, or separated under a writer
Internal Revenue laws of the United States. Care Credit, and Employment Taxes for agreement, you may be able to claim the
Household Employers. credit even if your child is not your

We need it to ensure that taxpayers are

complying with these laws and to allow usto Who Is a Qualifying Person? dependent. Your child is a qualifying person

if all four of the following apply:

figure and collect the right amount of tax. A qualifying person is any one of the

You are required to give us this information. —_ following persons: 1. You had custody for the longer period
What Is the Child and Dependent © Any person under age 15 whom you claim  duringthe year; and

Care Expenses Credit? asa dependent (out see the Special rule 2. The child received over half of his or her
You may be able to take a tax credit for separated parents). ivorced or support from one or both of the parents;

amounts you paid someone to care for your " .
child or other qualifying person so youcould ® Your disabled spouse who is mentallyor 3. The child was in the custody of one or

work or look for work in 1984. The credit physically unable to care for himself or both of the parents over half of the year;
will lower the amount of your tax. The credit Any disabled person who is mentally or and
ise eo acer ee rnoet anon you physically unable to care for himself or 4. The child was under age 15, or was
take as a credit is $720 if you paid for the herself and whom you claim as a physically or mentally unable to care for
care of one qualifying person, or $1,440 if dependent, or could claim as a himself or herself.
you paid for the care of two or more dependent except that he or she had ;
income of $1,000 or more. (Continued on back)

qualifying persons.

Form 2441 (1984)


Form 2441 (1984)

Page 2

Who May Take the Credit?

To claim the credit all five of the following
must apply:

1. You paid for the care so you (and your
spouse if you were married) could work or
look for work (but see the rules at the line 4
instructions for Spouse who is a full-time
student or is disabled).

2. One or more qualifying persons lived in
your home.
3. You (and your spouse if you were
married) paid over half the cost of keeping
up your home. The cost includes: rent;
mortgage interest; property taxes; utilities;
home repairs; and food eaten at home.
4. The person you paid to provide the care
was not your spouse or a person you could
claim as a dependent.
Note: /f the person you paid for the care
was your child, he or she must have been
19 or over by the end of 1984.
5. If you were married at the end of 1984,
generally, you must file a joint tax return.
However, there are two exceptions to this
tule. You will be treated as unmarried and
may file a separate return and still be
eligible to take the credit if:
a. You were legally separated; or
b. You were living apart from your
spouse, and:
© The qualifying person lived in your
home over 6 months, and
© You provided over half the cost of
keeping up your home, and
© Your spouse did not live in your
home during the last 6 months of
the tax year.

What Are Qualified Expenses?
Qualified expenses include amounts paid

for household services and care of the
qualifying person.

Household services.—These services
must be 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, governess,
or cleaning person if the services were
partly for the care of the qualifying person.

Care of the qualifying person.—Care
includes the cost of services for the
qualifying person’s well-being and
protection.

Generally, care does not include food or
schooling expenses; but if you paid for care
that included these items, and you cannot
separate their cost from the total payment,
you may count the total payment. However,
you may not count the cost of schooling for
achild in the first grade or above.

Care outside the home.—You may count
care provided outside your home if the care
was for:
a. Your dependent under age 15; or
b. Any other qualifying person who
regularly spends at least 8 hours each
day in your home.

Care that is provided by a dependent care
center may be counted if the center
complies with all applicable state and local
laws and regulations. A dependent care
center is a place that provides care for at
least seven persons (other than persons
who live there), and receives a fee,
payment, or grant for providing the services
for any of those persons, regardless of
whether the center is run for profit.

Medical expenses.—Some dependent
care expenses may qualify as medical
expenses. If you itemize deductions, you
may want to take all or part of these
medical expenses on Schedule A (Form
1040). If you cannot use all the medical
expenses on Form 2441 because of the
dollar limit or earned income limit
(explained later), you may take the rest of
these expenses on Schedule A. But if you
deduct the medical expenses first on
Schedule A, you may not use any part of
these expenses on Form 2441.

Specific Instructions

We have provided specific instructions for
most of the lines on the form. Those lines
that do not appear in the instructions are

self-explanatory.

Line 2.—In general, if you paid cash wages
of $50 or more in a calendar quarter for
household services provided by a person
such as a housekeeper, maid, babysitter, or
cook, you must file an employment tax
return. If you are not sure whether you
should file an employment tax return, get
Form 942, Employer’s Quarterly Tax
Return for Household Employees.

Note: You should file a Form 940,
Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment
(FUTA) Tax Return, for 1984 by January 31,
1985, if you paid cash wages of $1,000 or
more for household services in any calendar
quarter in 1983 or 1984.

Line 3. Dollar limit.—On line 3 write the
amount of qualified child and dependent
care expenses you incurred and actually
paid in 1984. However, the most you may
figure the credit on is $2,400 a year for one
qualifying person, or $4,800 a year for two
or more qualifying persons. Do not include
amounts paid or incurred by your employer
if, and to the extent, such amounts are
excluded from your gross income.

Note: Do not include on line 3 qualified
expenses that you incurred in 1984 but did
not pay until 1985. Instead, you may be
able to increase the amount of your 1985
credit when you pay the 1984 expenses in
1985.

Line 4. Earned income limit.—Figure your
earned income on line 4. The amount of
your qualified expenses may not be more
than your earned income.

In general, earned income is wages,
salaries, tips, and other employee
compensation. It also includes net earnings
from self-employment. For more
information on what is earned income for
purposes of the credit, see Publication 503.

Unmarried taxpayers.—|f you were
unmarried at the end of 1984 or are treated
as being unmarried at the end of the year,
write your earned income on line 4.

Married taxpayers.—f you are married,
filing a joint return, figure each spouse's
earned income separately and disregard
community property laws. Write your
earned income on line 4a and your spouse’s
earned income on line 4b. Then, write the
‘smaller of your earned income or your
spouse's earned income on line 4.

Spouse who is a full-time student or is
disabled.—If your spouse was a full-time
student or was mentally or physically unable
to care for himself or herself, figure your
spouse's earned income on a monthly basis
to determine your spouse’s earned income
for the year. For each month that your
spouse was disabled or a full-time student,
your spouse is considered to have earned
income of not less than $200 a month
($400 a month if more than one qualifying
person was cared for in 1984).

If, in the same month, both you and your
spouse were full-time students and did not
work, you may not use any amount paid that
month to figure the credit. The same
applies to a couple who did not work
because neither was capable of self-care.

A full-time student is one who was
enrolled in a school for the number of hours
or classes that is considered full time. The
student must have been enrolled at least 5
months during 1984.

Self-employment income.—You must
reduce your earned income by any loss from
self-employment. If your net earnings from
self-employment are less than $1,600, and
you use the optional method to figure your
self-employment tax, you may be able to
increase your net earnings to $1,600. See
Publication 533, Self-Employment Tax, for
details. If you only have a loss from self-
employment, or your loss is more than your
other earned income and you do not use the
optional method, you may not take the
credit.

Line 8.—If you had qualified expenses for
1983 that you did not pay until 1984, you
may be able to increase the amount of
credit you may take in 1984. To do this,
multiply the 1983 expenses you paid in
1984 by the percentage from the table on
line 6 that applies to the adjusted gross
income shown on your 1983 Form 1040,
line 33. Your 1983 expenses must be within
the 1983 limits. Attach a computation
showing how you figured the increase. (Use
the example in Publication 503 as a guide.)