Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 3 adds the expenses from line 2, capped by the amount the form prints. Line 4 is your earned income and line 5 is your spouse’s (or a copy of line 4 if you are not married filing jointly). Line 6 takes the smallest of lines 3, 4 and 5. The expenses come from line 2 and the earned income from your return.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Form 2441 Credit Limit Worksheet and Form 2441 prior-year expenses worksheet.
What lines 3 to 6 ask for
Line 3 reads “Add the amounts in column (d) of line 2. Don’t enter more than $3,000 if you had one qualifying person or $6,000 if you had two or more persons.” It continues “If you completed Part III, enter the amount from line 31.” Line 4 reads “Enter your earned income.” Line 5 reads “If married filing jointly, enter your spouse’s earned income” and sends everyone else to line 4. Line 6 reads “Enter the smallest of line 3, 4, or 5.”
Line 3: the expense total
The instructions explain the two or more persons cap: “The maximum amount of work-related expenses you can take into account for purposes of the credit is $6,000 if you have two or more qualifying persons even if you only incurred expenses for just one of them.” The column (d) amounts come from the line 2 page.
Lines 4 and 5: earned income
The instructions say “If filing jointly, figure your and your spouse’s earned income separately.” and “Enter your earned income on line 4 and your spouse’s earned income on line 5.”
They list what it includes: “Earned income for figuring the credit generally includes the following amounts.” The first item is “The amount shown on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 1z”, with the subtractions the instructions list. That line is explained on the Form 1040 line 1z page. Another item is “Nontaxable combat pay if you elect to include it in earned income.” The pay is explained on the Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i page.
Two limits apply: “You must reduce your earned income by any loss from self-employment.” and “Child support payments received by you aren’t included in your gross income and aren’t considered as earned income for figuring this credit.”
A student or disabled spouse or taxpayer
The instructions say “For each month or part of a month your spouse was a student or was disabled, they are considered to have worked and earned income.” “Their earned income for each month is considered to be at least $250 ($500 if you had two or more qualifying persons at any time during 2025).” “Enter that amount on line 5.”
On who counts as a student: “Your spouse was a full-time student if they were enrolled as a full-time student at a school for some part of each of 5 calendar months during 2025.” For you the instructions say “These rules for a spouse who was a student or disabled also apply to you if you were a student or disabled.” Two cautions: “If, in the same month, both you and your spouse were either students or disabled, only one of you can be treated as having earned income in that month under these rules.” and “If you enter deemed income of $250 or $500 a month on Form 2441, you must check the box on Form 2441, line B.” The box is covered on the lines A and B and Part I page.
Joint returns and community property
The instructions say “If you are filing jointly, disregard community property laws in determining the earned income of an individual.”
Where the number comes from
Line 3 comes from line 2 and, if you completed Part III, from line 31 (see the lines 22 to 31 page). Lines 4 and 5 come from your return and the instructions’ earned income list. Line 6 is the smallest of the three.
Where it goes next
Line 9a says “Multiply line 6 by the decimal amount on line 8”. That step is on the lines 7 to 9c page. For the full form, see Form 2441.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2025 Form 2441 (Child and Dependent Care Expenses) and its 2025 instructions, the current files irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. They are the files for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. The form says “Attach to Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR.” Check the tax year printed on the form you are filling in and use the line numbers on that year’s form, because a different year’s form can number or word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Entering more than the cap on line 3. The form says “Don’t enter more than $3,000 if you had one qualifying person or $6,000 if you had two or more persons.”
- Forgetting to reduce earned income for a business loss. The instructions say “You must reduce your earned income by any loss from self-employment.”
- Counting child support as earned income. The instructions say “Child support payments received by you aren’t included in your gross income and aren’t considered as earned income for figuring this credit.”
Related: Form 1040 line 1z, Form 1040 lines 1h and 1i, Form 1040, and Schedule 3 line 2.
Sources
- Instructions for Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2441.pdf
- Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses (2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f2441.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.