M1CD: Child and Dependent Care Credit (2024)
Minnesota · Minnesota DOR · Used for tax years 2024
Minnesota Schedule M1CD calculates the refundable Child and Dependent Care Credit for 2024. It reports care provider information, qualifying persons, care expenses, income, and any dependent care benefits received. Include this schedule with Form M1.
Who files this form
Use 2024 Schedule M1CD to claim Minnesota’s Child and Dependent Care Credit. Generally, you may qualify if you paid for care so you, and your spouse if filing jointly, could work or look for work.
The general requirements include:
- You, and your spouse if filing jointly, received earned income.
- Your adjusted gross income is less than $74,410 with one qualifying person or $86,410 with two or more.
- Your filing status is Single, Head of Household, Qualifying Surviving Spouse with dependent child, or Married Filing Jointly. A limited exception applies to Married Filing Separately.
- The care was for a qualifying person. Generally, this is your dependent child younger than 13, your disabled spouse, or your disabled dependent who lived with you for more than half the year.
- The care provider was not your spouse, the parent of your qualifying child, or someone you could claim as a dependent. If your child provided care, they must have been at least 19 by the end of 2024 and cannot be your dependent.
- You report the required care provider and qualifying person information.
Married Filing Separately: You may generally claim the credit if you meet the other eligibility requirements and all three of these conditions: you lived apart from your spouse during the last six months of 2024, your home was the qualifying person’s main home for more than half of 2024, and you paid more than half the cost of keeping up that home for 2024.
Part-year residents and nonresidents may qualify based on the percentage of earned income taxable to Minnesota. Special rules also apply to children born in 2024, licensed day care operators, and spouses who were full-time students or disabled.
What you'll need
Have these records and details ready:
- Payment records: Save canceled checks and itemized receipts showing child and dependent care payments. The department may ask to see them.
- Care provider details: Name, address, Social Security number or federal employer identification number, and amount paid. You may use federal Form W-10 to obtain provider information.
- Qualifying person details: Name, date of birth, Social Security number, and qualifying expenses. The name and Social Security number must match the person’s Social Security card.
- Income information: Form M1 and the federal return information needed to calculate your earned income and, if applicable, your spouse’s earned income.
- Dependent care benefit records, if applicable: Your 2024 Form W-2, box 10, or federal Schedule K-1 (Form 1065), box 13, code O, plus information about benefits carried over, forfeited, or carried forward.
Attach a statement with the required information if you have more than two care providers or more than two qualifying persons. If a child was born and died in 2024 without a Social Security number, enter “Died” in Table 2, column (c), and attach a birth certificate or hospital medical records.
How to file
Include Schedule M1CD with your Form M1. The supplied text does not give a mailing address or e-filing directions.
- Complete Part 1 with care provider information.
- If you did not receive dependent care benefits, complete only Parts 1 and 2.
- If you received dependent care benefits, complete Parts 1 through 4. After Part 1, complete Part 3 next.
- Round amounts to the nearest whole dollar.
- Full-year residents enter the credit from line 9 on Schedule M1REF, line 1, and the number of qualifying persons on line 1a.
- Part-year residents, nonresidents, and American Indians living on a reservation complete lines 10 through 13. Enter the line 13 credit on Schedule M1REF, line 1, and the number of qualifying persons on line 1a.
Common mistakes
- Missing or incorrect provider information: The department may disallow your credit and exclusion if the information is incomplete or incorrect.
- Mismatched names and Social Security numbers: Check Table 2 against each qualifying person’s Social Security card.
- Using expenses from the wrong year in Table 2: Do not include 2023 expenses paid in 2024, 2024 expenses paid in 2025, or prepayments for care to be provided in 2025. Separate instructions apply to prior-year expenses.
- Counting the same expenses twice: When completing Part 4, do not include amounts from line 29 in Table 2’s qualifying expenses.
- Including excluded costs: Do not include kindergarten or higher schooling, overnight camp, summer school, tutoring, chauffeur services, or gardener services.
- Ignoring the Part 4 stop rule: If line 30 is zero or less, stop. The form says you do not qualify and directs you to the line 7 instructions if you paid 2023 expenses in 2024.
- Missing the Married Filing Separately checkbox: If you qualify under the special rules, check the box above Part 1. The instructions say not to complete the schedule if you are filing separately and have not checked it.
Questions people ask
Can I receive this credit if I owe no Minnesota income tax?
Yes. The Minnesota credit is refundable, so you may benefit even if you have no state tax liability.
Can I qualify if my child was born in 2024 and I had no child care expenses?
You may be eligible to calculate the credit using $3,000 of expenses, even without actual expenses for that child or if only one spouse had earned income. Use the Worksheet for Child Born in 2024 if you meet its conditions, including the restriction on participation in a pretax dependent care assistance program.
Can a licensed day care operator claim the credit for their own child?
You may qualify if your child was younger than six at the end of 2024. For a child 16 months or younger, the credit is based on $3,000 of qualified expenses. For an older child under six, it is based on what you would charge for a child of the same age and the same hours, up to $3,000 per qualifying child. Check the appropriate box above Part 1 and enter your license number.
What if I paid 2023 care expenses in 2024?
You may be able to increase your 2024 credit. Use the Prior-Year Expense Worksheet for Line 7. Attach a statement showing the name and taxpayer identification number of the person receiving care and how you calculated the credit.