What are the chances that the IRS will accept a 2441 child care credit from a tax payer that's the father of this child, but did not claim the child as a dependent?
The tax person that claimed as a dependent did not pay for the child care and is not filing a 2441 for child care expenses.
--tj
You left out a very important bit of information. You failed to tell us with whom the child lived for the greater part of the year. That information would tell us which taxpayer is the custodial parent and can treat the child as a qualifying child for tax benefits. The taxpayer who has a qualifying child that is under age 13 and pays someone for day care in order to work or look for work, is the taxpayer who can claim the child and dependent care credit. There is no requirement that the child be the taxpayer's dependent because a custodial parent can release the dependency exemption to the other parent. The custodial parent does not give up the ability to claim the child and dependent credit, if eligible, when this happens.
If the referenced father of the child is not the custodial parent and therefore the child is not his qualifying child, he would not be eligible for the child and dependent care credit regardless of who paid the day care expenses.
Therefore, a father who is the custodial parent of a qualifying child under age 13 for whom he paid day care expenses in order to work or look for work may apply for the child and dependent care credit.
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