Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Lines 12 through 15 add up the dependent care benefits you received for 2025. Line 12 is the total received, usually the amount in box 10 of your Form W-2. Line 13 is a grace-period carryover from 2024, line 14 is what you forfeited or carried forward, and line 15 combines them.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 503.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8839 Part III employer adoption benefits.
What lines 12 to 15 ask for
Part III is titled Dependent Care Benefits. The instructions say “If you received dependent care benefits as an employee, they should be shown in box 10 of your Form W-2”. They also say “Y ou must complete Part III of Form 2441 before you can figure the credit, if any, in Part II.” The four lines here build the total that the rest of Part III works from. The whole form is walked through on the Form 2441 line by line guide page.
Line 12: benefits received
The instructions say “Enter the total amount of dependent care benefits you received in 2025.” For employees, “Amounts you received as an employee should be shown in box 10 of your Form(s) W-2”. The instructions add “don’t include amounts reported in box 10 that exceed your plan’s exclusion” and note those are reported as wages in box 1. The box 10 entry is explained on the W-2 box 10 page.
If you worked for yourself, the instructions say “If you were selfemployed or a partner, include amounts you received under a dependent care assistance program from your sole proprietorship or partnership.” A partner’s amount has its own source: “Benefits you received as a partner should be shown in box 13 of your Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) with code O.”
Line 13: the grace period carryover
The instructions say “Enter on line 13 the amount you carried forward and used in 2025 during the grace period.” The form’s caption reads “Enter the amount, if any, you carried over from 2024 and used in 2025 during the grace period.” The instructions explain the setting: “your employer may have permitted you to carry forward any unused amount from 2024 to use during a grace period in 2025”.
Line 14: forfeited or carried forward
If you had an employer-provided dependent care plan, the instructions say “enter on line 14 the total of the following amounts included on line 12.” There are two kinds. The first is “Any amount you forfeited.” The instructions define it: “You forfeited an amount if you didn’t receive it because you didn’t incur the expense.” The second is “Any amount you didn’t receive but are permitted by your employer to carry forward and use in the following year.” They add “Don’t include amounts you expect to receive at a future date.”
The instructions give an example: “Under your employer’s dependent care plan, you chose to have your employer set aside $5,000 to cover your 2025 dependent care expenses.” The instructions continue “In 2025, you incurred and were reimbursed for $4,950 of qualified expenses.” They conclude “You would enter $5,000 on line 12 and $50, the amount forfeited, on line 14.”
Line 15: the total
The instructions say “Add the amounts on lines 12 and 13 and subtract from that total the amount on line 14.” Enter the result on line 15. The form’s caption says “Combine lines 12 through 14.”. Line 14 is printed in parentheses on the form because it is subtracted.
Computed illustration, not an IRS example. Suppose line 12 is $4,000 and line 13 is $500 and line 14 is $200. Lines 12 and 13 add to $4,500 and subtracting $200 leaves $4,300 for line 15.
Where the number comes from
Line 12 comes from box 10 of your Form W-2, or from your own business records if you are self-employed or a partner. Line 13 comes from what your employer allowed you to carry from 2024, and line 14 from your plan records of what you forfeited or may carry into the next year. The dependent care account limit itself is discussed on the dependent care FSA limit page.
Where it goes next
Line 15 is used again on line 17 and line 23. Line 17 reads “Enter the smaller of line 15 or 16” and line 23 reads “Subtract line 22 from line 15”. Those lines are covered on the lines 16 to 21 page and the lines 22 to 31 page. Taxable benefits end up on Form 1040, line 1e, explained on the Form 1040 line 1e page.
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 header 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. The whole form is walked through on the Form 2441 line by line guide page.
Common mistakes
- Including box 10 amounts that are already wages. The instructions say “don’t include amounts reported in box 10 that exceed your plan’s exclusion”.
- Counting an amount you expect to receive later as forfeited. The instructions say “Don’t include amounts you expect to receive at a future date.”
- Adding line 14 instead of subtracting it. The instructions say “Add the amounts on lines 12 and 13 and subtract from that total the amount on line 14.”
Related: W-2 box 10, dependent care FSA limit, and Form 1040 line 1e.
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.