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Dependent care credit increased from $6000 to $16000 for 2 or more kids

Posted on 3/21/21 at 8:50 am
Posted by LSU6262
Member since Jun 2008
7492 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 8:50 am
quote:

The child- and dependent-care credit has also been expanded so that up to $8,000 of expenses are covered for one dependent (up from $3,000) and up to $16,000 are covered for two or more (up from $6,000).


LINK

Will this screw those of us that chose to enroll in employer plan of $5000 max?
Posted by TigeRoots
Member since Oct 2008
8505 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 8:57 am to
Can’t read the whole article, is there an income limit on this? And how would it screw us that have the $5K limit? Just not being able to get more?
Posted by PewPewBlue
Merica
Member since Jan 2021
491 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 11:09 am to
More "free" money...
Posted by Lightning
Texas
Member since May 2014
2300 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 11:52 am to
LINK

I found this article without the pay wall. It looks like employers can choose to increase the maximum amount for their dependent care plans but it doesn’t happen automatically. I’m sure HR departments everywhere are still sorting through this but I intend to check in with my benefits department if I haven’t heard anything by end of April.
Posted by castorinho
13623 posts
Member since Nov 2010
82026 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 12:07 pm to
I'm not sure how that screws you. You were always able to get a credit on the difference between 6k and whatever you put in your employers plan.

We pay 30k in child care a year, and this doesn't help us .
Posted by TheWiz
Third World, LA
Member since Aug 2007
11677 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 12:15 pm to
quote:

We pay 30k in child care a year, and this doesn't help us


Yeah, we chose the nanny life and it's expensive!
Posted by Lightning
Texas
Member since May 2014
2300 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 12:19 pm to
I have one child, so in the past my choices were $5,000 to my dependent care account or $3,000 credit. $5k worked out better for me.

This year, they’ve raised the credit to $8,000. So unless I’m allowed to contribute $8,000 to my dependent care account OR I’m allowed to claim a credit for the $3,000 difference, yeah it does screw people who opted for the dependent care account. I’m pretty sure they’ll work it out before next year though so I’m not stressed about it.
Posted by castorinho
13623 posts
Member since Nov 2010
82026 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 1:18 pm to
quote:

While you cannot receive both tax benefits for the same expenses, you may be able to claim both tax benefits if your expenses exceed $5,000. If you have two or more children, you could set aside the first $5,000 pre-tax into an FSA and claim up to $1,000 of remaining expenses for the dependent child-care credit. This means you could potentially collect the higher tax savings allotted through an FSA but not be limited to the FSA's maximum of $5,000.


This was before. So I'm going to assume it stays the same way. But there's tax guys in here and hopefully they can reassure you.

quote:

Yeah, we chose the nanny life and it's expensive!
daycare for us.
This post was edited on 3/21/21 at 3:57 pm
Posted by TheWiz
Third World, LA
Member since Aug 2007
11677 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 1:53 pm to
Damn, baw! How many kids do you have? I guess it doesn't take much. Our toddler starts 1/2 days in August and it's $12,500/year.
Posted by tenderfoot tigah
Red Stick
Member since Sep 2004
10398 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 2:10 pm to
Does private school count as dependent care? And why or why not?
Posted by TheWiz
Third World, LA
Member since Aug 2007
11677 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 2:18 pm to
I think up to or through Kindergarten. I haven't read up on it in a few years though. Guess I need to peruse the subject again since he's starting school.

Eligible Expenses

ETA: Preschool Yes. Tuition No.
This post was edited on 3/21/21 at 2:22 pm
Posted by Phate
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2006
11724 posts
Posted on 3/21/21 at 7:32 pm to
quote:

Our toddler starts 1/2 days in August and it's $12,500/year.


Wow I complain about paying $11,500 for all day.
Posted by LSUFanHouston
NOLA
Member since Jul 2009
37088 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 7:50 am to
Y'all need to pay attention to this. The amount that can be used has increased to $8,000 for one kid, or $16,000 for 2 or more kids. Companies may increase the dependent care account contribution max, but that may not be the greatest idea. Why?

For most people, the dependent care account is a better deal than the credit, because when your AGI hits 43K, the credit percentage drops to 20 percent. Many people with dependent care accounts have a marginal tax rate higher than that, so they get a better deal using the account.

However, this tax bill, for 2021 only, also raises the top credit percentage all the way to 50%, and doesn't start to drop below 50% until AGI hits $125,000. It then drops 1 percentage point per 2K of excess AGI until it gets down to 20 percent. Then, it freezes until you hit 400K of AGI, and then it continues the 1 percentage point drop per 2K of AGI until it fully phases out.

So... some of you may now be in a position where the credit actually makes more sense than the account.
Posted by castorinho
13623 posts
Member since Nov 2010
82026 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 7:53 am to
quote:

So... some of you may now be in a position where the credit actually makes more sense than the account.

to be fair, it's late for that considering enrollment happened months ago and most plans just won't be that flexible.
With that being said, they'll still be able to claim the credit on 3k right? (8k-5k)
This post was edited on 3/22/21 at 7:56 am
Posted by bstew3006
318
Member since Dec 2007
12576 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 10:41 am to
quote:

Dependent care credit increased from $6000 to $16000 for 2 or more kids by LSU6262


This post was edited on 3/22/21 at 11:03 am
Posted by TheWiz
Third World, LA
Member since Aug 2007
11677 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 10:52 am to
Actually, I just looked. It's gonna be $11,000 for 1/2 days plus lunch. It was $12,500 if we convert to full days.
Posted by castorinho
13623 posts
Member since Nov 2010
82026 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 11:03 am to
That's not much of a discount
Posted by TheWiz
Third World, LA
Member since Aug 2007
11677 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 12:21 pm to
Yeah, right?! We are going to keep our nanny with a 2nd one due in October. The 1/2 days will fit our lifestyle best as she will be able to pick him up, handle nap, and we won't have to scramble to pick him up in the afternoons. #firstworldproblem
Posted by castorinho
13623 posts
Member since Nov 2010
82026 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 12:43 pm to

Not sure of the exact breakdown on our but we have two full time (1&4) and one part time - pre and after school (6). So we just drop all three there and daycare will drop and pick up the oldest one to/from school as well as holidays etc.
Posted by PistolPete45
Mandeville, LA
Member since Apr 2012
468 posts
Posted on 3/22/21 at 1:18 pm to
So... since this is a refundable tax credit and we always get a refund and never owe, after we take into account the $5k of depedent FSA that we used, we could potentially getting an extra $11k back on our taxes right? obviously up to our actual cost of daycare.

This post was edited on 3/22/21 at 1:19 pm
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