Q: My son is 4 and he goes to Pre-K and a private school. Children are required to go to school at 5 for Kindergarten. Can I write off the tuition I pay the school for Pre-K as a child care expense?

A: Nursery school and other pre-kindergarten costs generally qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit because the educational benefits are considered incidental to the child care costs. The credit is limited to a maximum of $3000 per child and $6000 for two or more children in pre-school. In addition, the credit is limited by the amount of your income and in order to qualify you must be paying someone in order for you to work. See IRS Form 2441 and its instructions and IRS Pub 503 for more information.

Q: What do I need to do to claim the child and dependent care credit for my daughter in day care?

A: If you are paying for childcare in order that you can work, you will need the Name, Address and EIN or SSN of the provider and the address of where the services are provided. Keep track of the checks or payments that you make to the provider and the period of time covered by each payment. This information is used to prepare the tax return, but is not submitted to the IRS.

You will need to complete Schedule 2, if you are preparing a 1040A Tax Return, or Form 2441, if you are completing a 1040 Tax Return in order to claim your child care tax credit.