Hello,

My filing status is married filing jointly with my spouse. I have a three year old dependent. My spouse does not work but she had a surgery earlier this year and we hired a nanny to take care of my child. Am I eligible for child and dependent care credit? Thanks.

Yes, but you need to provide information on the nanny, who must be either an employee of and paid by an agency, or your employee, even if referred by an agency. Claiming that she was self employed may trigger an audit, and it's possible that she didn't qualify as self-employed. You will have to provide her with the same reporting you file with your return, and that could mean quite a bit of taxes for her to pay... so you need to decide based on those factors, what the 'arrangement' with the nanny was, and how long employment lasted.

All that Joy states is accurate. Daycare that is needed if one of the parents is physically unable to provide care IS eligible for the DayCare Credit.