Exceptions

• If a married couple files jointly and one member of the couple does not work during the year, the couple cannot claim the full credit, but the Internal Revenue Service does grant some exceptions. If one spouse works during the year, but the other spouse is a college student with a full-time course schedule, or the non-working spouse is sick and can't work during the year, the taxpayer can still file a joint return and receive the credit.
  
  

Job Search

• When a taxpayer has eligible child care expenses while she has a job, but then loses her job, she can still qualify for the child care credit. According to the Internal Revenue Service, if a taxpayer is actively searching for a job, she remains eligible for the child care credit. The taxpayer loses her eligibility if her unemployment lasts longer than a year, even if she continues to look for a job, because she won't have any earned income.
  
  

Partial Credit

• If a taxpayer has a job and hires a babysitter, but then he loses his job, he may have to take a partial credit. A partial child care credit uses the taxpayer's average child care expenses on the days that he does work. If the taxpayer works for 8 months of the year, loses his job, and does not immediately search for a new one, his eligibility period is two thirds of the year. He can't get the full $3,000 and can only claim a $2,000 child care credit.
  
  

Cost Percentage

• A taxpayer who loses her job during the year may be able to apply a larger percentage of her child care expenses toward the credit. This is because the IRS allows a taxpayer with less than $15,000 in income to claim 35 percent of babysitting costs, but a taxpayer who makes $43,000 or more may only claim 20 percent of child care bills.