Daycare费用主要可以有两种免税方式。Dependent Care FSAC（DFSA） 和Child Care Expense Credit.
先说DFSA 1. 背景 -----Dependent Care FSA（DFSA）是Flexible Spending Account的一种,另一种是Medical FSAM（MFSA）, 用于医 疗费用。 都是雇主提供的福利 ,类似医疗保险，在大家每年的benefit open enrollment时sign-up. 但是一般每年都要重新sign-up,不会像医疗保险那样自动carry over你上一年的选择。open enrollment 决定了下一年的contribution amount以后，一般不可以中途改变，除非有life time changing event. Dependent FSA目前是$5000 per family.夫妻双方任何一人contribute都可以，但是不能超过$5000的family cap.
2. 怎么报账 ----- FSA 不是mandated,所以不是所有雇主都提供。提供的雇主各自有自己的management company。你需要在 management company的网站上注册账号，这样就可以随时view balance, submit claim了。你选择的contribution amount按pay schedule进入账户，钱到账之后，你就可以网上提交你的daycare tuition payment receipt. 但是和MFSA不同的是，MFSA是你一年的total contribution 都available for reimbursement from Jan 1st (Day1). DFSA只有已到帐的balance才能用。而且reimburse的必须是已经发生的service,就是说如果你三月底交的4月份的学费，不能三月底reimburse,要等到四月结束后。这就意味着你的receipt上最好除了taxid,还要有service period from xxx to xxxx.
3. Tax benefit & Eligible work related expense --- FSA 享有很好的tax exemption待遇。FSA contribution is suppose to be completely pre-tax,不用交SSN,Medicare,Federal, and State tax. (Even better than your 401k, which you still need to pay SSN & Medicare tax).但是tax benefit 是有条件的。那就是你 >>>>>Reimburse 的expense得是花在qualified individual身上,>>>>>而且不超过IRS规定的 reimbursement limit. 前一条比较简单，对大多妈妈们来说最相关的就是孩子不能超过13岁，满十三的这一年要prorated. 后一条比较复杂，因为这个tax deduction 的limit取决于五个条件。 这五个条件反映在 Form2441 Part III （https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2441.pdf）上，具体政策写在 Pub 503（https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p503.pdf）里。为了避免引起争议，下面我尽量引用IRS原文。 蓝色字体是直接相关的中文翻译，不愿读太多英文的直接读蓝色部分就行
[IRS Pub 503 page 10]
Dependent care benefits include: 1) Amounts your employer paid directly to either you or your care provider for the care of your qualifying person while you work, 2) The fair market value of care in a daycare facility providedor sponsored by your employer, and 3) Pre-tax contributions you made under a dependent care flexible spending arrangement. (说明DFSA被定义为Dependent Care Benefit的一种）
Exclusion or deduction: If your employer provides dependent care benefits under a qualified plan, you may be able to exclude these benefits from your income. （说明Dependent Care Benefit 包括DFSA能直接从paycheck上deduct as pretax）Your employer can tell you whether your benefit plan qualifies.To claim the exclusion, you must complete Part III of Form 2441. You can't use Form 1040 EZ.
The amount you can exclude or deduct is limited to the smallest of: （说明能免税的只是limit以下的那部分,limit=以下五个数字最小的那个） 1) The total amount of dependent care benefits you received during the year (这是你的DFSA Contribution amount) 2) The total amount of qualified expenses you incurred during the year, （符合要求的收入，Form 2441 instruction Page 2 定义qualified expense as 'amounts paid for household services and care of the qualifying person while you worked or looked for work') 3) Your earned income, (本人收入） 4) Your spouse's earned income, or （配偶收入） 5) $5,000 ($2,500 if married filing separately) （$5000 Family cap by IRS regulation)
重点这里在于smallest of the 5. 如果夫妻双方收入都多于$5000,则$5000都可免税。如果一方收入少于$5000,比如只有$2000,则无论你contribute了多少，能免税的最多只有那$2000.如果一方0收入，则你的FSA contribution都不满足免税条件。唯一例外的情况是夫妻一方或双方是full-time student或disabled.见下面
[原文from Form 2441 Instruction page 4] Your spouse's earned income. Your spouse was a full-time student if he or she was enrolled as a full-time student at a school for some part of each of 5 calendar months during 2016. The months need not be consecutive. A school doesn't include an on-the-job training course, correspondence school, or a school offering courses only through the Internet. Your spouse was disabled if he or she wasn't physically or mentally capable of self-care. Figure your spouse's earned income on a monthly basis.For each month or part of a month your spouse was a student or was disabled, he or she is considered to have worked and earned income. His or her earned income for each month is considered to be at least $250 ($500 if more than one qualifying person was cared for in 2016).Enter that amount on line 5. If your spouse also worked during that month, use the higher of $250 (or $500) or his or her actual earned income for that month. 这里是说满足5个月full time student status的条件（或者disabled)，你（或者配偶）被自动认为上学的那个月有$250收入，如果有多于一个孩子，这个数字上升为$500.以此作为你那个月的收入。当然如果你同时有其他工作收入，就按高的算。这样学生和残障人士收入就不再是零了。这样算出的年收入用来决定学生/残障家庭有多少FSA contribution是tax deductible的。
******请注意这里特殊待遇的只有学生和disabled.不管你是找工作也好，just stay at home也好，只要一方收入为0，FSA money都不能享有tax benefit. 仔细看 Form 2441 instruction Page 2,也有说到这一点： [form 2441 instruction Page 2] Who Can Take the Credit or Exclude Dependent Care Benefits? You can take the credit or the exclusion if all five of the following apply. ........... 2） The care was provided so you (and your spouse if filing jointly) could work or look for work. However, if you didn't find a job and have no earned income for the year,you can't take the credit or the exclusion. (明白说无收入就不qualify.这里的exclusion就是指 exclude Dependent Care Benefit from paycheck, including FSA. Credit指的是我们下面要讲的Child Care Expense Credit) But if you or your spouse was a full-time student or disabled, see the instructions for lines 4 and 5, later. ......... 但实际情况是因为雇主无法知道雇员配偶的收入情况，很多人在这里钻了空子。配偶无收入，另一方 pretax contribute了$5000.年终报税也没有正确补税。其实严格遵从Form 2441 的instruction,就会知道这里其实没有漏洞。 因为即使你contribute了$5000，paycheck上也没有withhold你的Federal & State tax。年终报税时，你的Form 2441 line 19 (spouse income) 如果为 0，line 24 (deductible benefit) 算出来就为0，最后line 26 (taxable benefit) 就应该是你的Full DFSA contribution. 按instruction, Form 2441 line 26是要加回到 Form 1040 line 7的,这样就成了taxable income, 要补交state & federal tax. Form2441 的part III 就是用来算这个tax deductible reimbursement 的 limit. 除非你选择有意ignore它来逃税。
daycare费用报税和dependent care FSA
☆ 发自 iPhone 华人一网 1.12.02
☆ 发自 iPhone 华人一网 1.12.02
daycare费用报税等
☆ 发自 iPhone 华人一网 1.12.04