2441N: Nebraska Child and Dependent Care Expenses (2024)

Who files this form

Use the 2024 Form 2441N only if your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) on Form 1040N, line 5, is $29,000 or less and you are claiming Nebraska’s refundable child and dependent care credit.

The eligibility rules include:

• Your filing status is single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing jointly. Special rules apply to married people filing separately.
• The care allowed you, and your spouse if filing jointly, to work or look for work. If you did not find a job and have no earned income for the year, you cannot take the credit or exclusion. Special earned-income rules apply to full-time students and people who are disabled.
• The care was for one or more qualifying persons.
• The provider was not your spouse, the parent of your qualifying child, or someone you can claim as a dependent. If your child provided the care, that child must have been at least 19 by the end of 2024 and cannot be your dependent.
• You provide the required care-provider information on line 1 and qualifying-person information on line 2 when claiming the credit.

See the Federal Form 2441 instructions for definitions of qualifying persons, qualified expenses, and dependent care benefits.

What you'll need

Have the following information available:

• Form 1040N: Your name, Social Security number, and federal AGI from line 5.
• Care-provider details: Each provider’s name, address, SSN or EIN, and amounts paid. Sources may include Federal Form W-10, a provider’s Social Security card, a driver’s license containing an SSN, or a printed invoice or recent letterhead showing the provider’s name, address, and taxpayer ID. An employer statement may also supply this information when the employer furnished the care.
• Qualifying-person details: Each person’s name, SSN, and qualified expenses incurred and paid in 2024.
• Earned-income information: Your earned income and, if filing jointly, your spouse’s earned income.
• Dependent care benefit information, if applicable: Federal Form W-2, box 10, and amounts carried over, used, or forfeited under your dependent care plan.
• Nebraska Schedule III, if you are a partial-year resident: The ratio from line 4 is used to calculate your credit.

How to file

Attach Form 2441N to Form 1040N. The supplied text does not give a mailing address.

• Complete Part I for your care providers.
• If you received dependent care benefits, complete Part III first, then Part II. Otherwise, complete Part II after Part I.
• Nebraska residents transfer the credit from line 11 to Form 1040N, line 40. Partial-year residents use line 12 after applying the Schedule III ratio.
• If you have more than three care providers, attach a statement with the required details, your name, and SSN. Enter “See Attached” under line 1(A). Also attach a statement with the required details, your name, and SSN if you have more than three qualifying persons.
• If you e-file and claim a credit for prior-year expenses, include the federal worksheet documentation as a binary attachment.

Common mistakes

• Missing or incorrect provider details: The text warns that your credit or exclusion will be disallowed if this information is not correct and complete.
• Exceeding the expense limit: Line 3 cannot exceed $3,000 for one qualifying person or $6,000 for two or more. If you completed Part III, use line 35 instead.
• Reporting too much on line 2: The expenses entered cannot exceed the amount actually paid to providers on line 1. Prepaid expenses count as paid in the year care is provided.
• Reducing provider payments by reimbursements: Do not reduce line 1, column (D), by reimbursements you received.
• Counting benefits twice: When completing line 34, do not include benefits shown on line 32 in line 2, column (C).
• Ignoring the stop instruction: If line 33 is zero or less, you cannot take the credit. The form notes an exception to check for 2023 expenses paid in 2024.

Questions people ask

What if my federal AGI is more than $29,000?

Do not complete Form 2441N. The text directs you to the nonrefundable credit instructions for Form 1040N, line 23, and to Federal Form 2441.

Can I claim expenses from 2023 that I paid in 2024?

You may be able to increase your 2024 credit. Use Worksheet A in the Federal Form 2441 instructions to determine eligibility. If allowed, add the additional credit to line 10, write “CPYE” beside that line, and attach the federal worksheet to your return.

Can married people filing separately claim the credit?

Generally, married people must file jointly. To be treated as unmarried for this credit, you must have lived apart from your spouse during the last six months of 2024, your home must have been the qualifying person’s main home for more than half of 2024, and you must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up that home for 2024. You must also meet the applicable care, provider, reporting, and income requirements.

What identifying number should I enter for a tax-exempt care provider?

Enter “Tax-Exempt” in line 1, column (C), if the provider is a tax-exempt organization.

Official sources

• https://revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/tax-forms/2024/f_2441N.pdf