HW-16: Dependent Care Provider’s Identification and Certification (Revision 2016)
Hawaii · Hawaii DoTax · Used for tax years 2024, 2025, 2026
Hawaii Form HW-16 collects and certifies a dependent care provider’s name, address, taxpayer identification number, and general excise tax identification number. Keep the completed form for your records rather than filing it with your income tax return.
Who files this form
You must get your dependent care provider’s identifying information if you:
- Intend to claim a tax credit for child and dependent care expenses; or
- Receive benefits through an employer’s dependent care assistance program.
Form HW-16 is one way to collect this information from each provider. You may also use one of the other methods listed on the form. Do not file HW-16 with your tax return. Keep it for your records.
Providers must give you the required information even if they are not required to file a tax return. A special exception applies to qualifying tax-exempt organizations.
What you'll need
For Part I, the provider supplies their name, address, taxpayer identification number (TIN), and general excise tax identification number (GE/Use I.D. No.), then signs and dates the certification.
To show that you made the required effort to obtain the information, get and keep one of these records:
- Form HW-16 properly completed by the provider.
- A copy of the provider’s Social Security card and general excise tax license.
- A recently printed letterhead or printed invoice showing the provider’s name, address, TIN, and GE/Use I.D. No.
- If your employer is the provider, the employer’s dependent care assistance program statement showing those identifying details.
- If the provider is your household employee, a copy of the properly completed Form HW-4 they gave you for income tax withholding.
How to file
Do not send Form HW-16 with your income tax return. Keep it for your records.
- Give the form to your dependent care provider to complete Part I, including the signature and date. Print or type the information.
- Complete Part II with your name and address only if the provider will return the form to you later.
- Report the provider’s correct name, address, TIN, and GE/Use I.D. No. on Schedule X, Tax Credits for Hawaii Residents.
Common mistakes
- Attaching HW-16 to your return. The form says to keep it for your records instead.
- Substituting federal Form W-10. A copy of federal Form W-10 may not be submitted for Form HW-16.
- Leaving out provider information without showing due diligence. You will not be allowed the credit or the income exclusion for employer-provided dependent care assistance if you omit required provider information and cannot show the Department, upon request, that you exercised due diligence in obtaining it.
- Leaving Schedule X incomplete because the provider refused your request. You must still give the provider’s name, address, and any known TIN and GE/Use I.D. No. You should also include a statement on Schedule X that you requested the information and the provider did not comply.
Questions people ask
Which taxpayer identification number should the provider enter?
Individuals and sole proprietors use a Social Security number (SSN). A nonresident or resident alien who does not have and is not eligible for an SSN uses an IRS individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). Other entities use a federal employer identification number (FEIN). If the number is an SSN, check the box in Part I.
What if the provider is a tax-exempt organization?
An organization described in IRC section 501(c)(3) does not have to supply its TIN or GE/Use I.D. No. It completes the name and address fields and writes “tax-exempt” in both identification number spaces.
What if the provider does not have the required identification numbers?
The provider should apply immediately. The form lists federal Form SS-5 for an SSN, federal Form W-7 for an ITIN, federal Form SS-4 for a FEIN, and Hawaii Form BB-1 for a GE/Use I.D. No.
Do I always need to complete Part II?
No. Complete Part II only if you give HW-16 to your provider and it will be returned to you later.
What if the provider refuses to give me the information?
Still report the provider’s name, address, and any known TIN and GE/Use I.D. No. on Schedule X. Also include a statement that you requested the information and the provider did not comply. This statement shows due diligence unless you know it is incorrect.