Ask Kim
Dependent-Care Money Okay for Pre-K
Cash you set aside through work for child-care expenses can be used for any care before kindergarten.
By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Personal Finance
June 9, 2008
My older son attends a private school this year, and it has changed from a preschool to a pre-kindergarten. My husband and I both work and I am enrolled in a dependent-care spending account at work. Can I use the money for the cost of pre-kindergarten tuition?
You're in luck. Even though you generally can't use the dependent-care money for education, the IRS draws the line at kindergarten. That means anything below that -- whether it's called nursery school, preschool or pre-K -- can be paid for with dependent-care account money, says Mark Luscombe, principal analyst with CCH Tax and Accounting. For kindergarten and above, you can only include the cost of care before and after school.
You also can use the dependent-care money for summer camp for a child of any age, as long as it's a day camp and not an overnight camp. Summer school and tutoring are considered to be education expenses, however, and don't qualify.
The rules about which expenses qualify for the dependent-care account are very similar to the expenses that count for the dependent-care tax credit. See IRS Publication 503 Child and Dependent Care Expenses for more information. Since you can't double-dip tax benefits, you can't use the same expenses for both the dependent-care tax credit and the dependent-care account.
Reader Comments (1)
Posted by: Claire Toth at 06/09/2008 05:41:10 PM
The IRS Publication 503 that you reference says the dependent must be under age 13 at the time that care is provided. If your comment above that summer day camp for any age child can be reimbursed, would you please share where that information is documented? Thanks.