You can make an annual contribution ranging from $130 to $5,000 (or $2,500 each if you are married and file your taxes separately). You can go to the Internal Revenue website at www.irs.gov and view IRS Publication 502 (Medical and Dental Expenses) and IRS Publication 503 (Child and Dependent Care Expenses).

Employees set aside pre-tax payroll deductions in the account to budget for the daycare expenses of a dependent child under age 13. Qualified expenses include nannies, babysitters, housekeepers, nurse's fees, and registration fees to a daycare facility. The cost of pre-K or nursery school, before and after school care, and day camp also qualify. To qualify, expenses paid for daycare must allow an employee or the employee's spouse to work or look for employment.

your dependent who was under age 13 when the care was provided and whom you can claim an exemption on your Federal Income Tax return, your dependent who was physically or mentally not able to care for himself or herself and whom you can claim as an exemption (or could claim as an exemption except the person had $2,900 or more of gross income). Physically or mentally not able to care for oneself.

employee can not continue to make contributions to their dependent care account after termination of employment. However, an employee can continue to request reimbursement for eligible expenses until the account balance is exhausted, or the plan year ends, even if the full annual amount has not been contributed prior to termination.

The Child/Dependent Care account allows pre-tax dollars to be used by working couples or single parents for day care to watch a child or dependent under 13 years of age (or any age if disbled) so they can work (or attend school full-time). Family members include anyone claimed as a dependent on your income tax return (From 1040).

The IRS limits the amount you can contribute to the program. You may contribute an amount up to the lesser of: These limits apply whether you are single or married. If your spouse is also eligible to participate in an employer's dependent care assistance plan, your combined Contributions should not exceed the above maximums. (This also applies if both you and your spouse are Northwestern employees.

Any money in your DCRA that is not used by the end of the plan year will be forfeited. Therefore, it is in your best interest to be conservative when estimating your contribution.

To participate in the FSA Dependent Care Account, employees must enroll in the Dependent Care Account within 31 days from the date of employment, assuming a benefits eligible position, or during Open Enrollment, employees must complete an enrollment form and the completed enrollment form must be received by the Benefits Division by the stated deadline date in order to participate in the plan.

Most important, your personal taxes will be reduced. The amount you contribute to your DCRA is not subject to Federal taxes. Generally, this will mean a tax savings of 15% to 40% depending on your tax bracket. As a direct result of the personal tax savings, you can actually increase your spendable income by changing the payment of those expenses from an after-tax to a pre-tax basis.

No. Contributions allocated to one benefit account can only be used to pay a claim from that benefit program. For example, your contributions to your Health Care FSA cannot be used to pay a dependent care expense.

No. Expenses for education do not qualify for your Dependent Care FSA. However, if you are charged for "after-care" for the portion of the day that your child attends the school that is charged for care and well-being, this charge does qualify for the Dependent Care FSA. Your provider must provide you with support for the charges for the portion that is specifically for care and well-being.

TThey do not have to be licensed, unless they care for enough individuals to require licensing in your State. They must provide you with their Tax ID Number or Social Security Number. You will need this number for the required filing of Form 2441 (or Schedule 2, if filing a 1040A) with your Federal tax return.

The maximum contribution for dependent care (Daycare FSA) accounts is set by the IRS at $5,000 if you are single head of household or married filing jointly. If married and filing separately, the Daycare FSA maximum is $2,500.

No. Money directed to one type of account can be used only for expenses relating to that account. This is true even if all the money in one account is not used and the other account runs short. Participants will forfeit any money left in the account after they have submitted claims for the entire year. Reminders are sent to the employee to minimize this risk.

The amount you have specified is taken from your paycheck each month and deposited in your Dependent Care Account. You pay your dependent care expenses as usual. You submit a claim form and receipts to the Benefits Division requesting reimbursement for these expenses. Benefits sends you a reimbursement check.

Eligible Dependent Care expenses are amounts spent for the care, well-being and/or protection of a qualified dependent so that you (and your spouse, if you are married) can work.

Yes. Below are some examples of expenses that are not reimbursed under your Dependent Care Reimbursement Account: Child care services provided by your spouse, someone you claim as an exemption on your federal income tax return, or by one of your children under age 19 Transportation expenses between your home and the dependent care provider, including chauffeur services

If you are single, or married and filing a joint tax return, you may deposit up to $5,000 from your combined pay into your DCRA. If you are married and filing a separate tax return, you may deposit a maximum of $2,500 into your DCRA. If your spouse participates in a dependent care reimbursement account through his/her employer and you file your tax return jointly, the combined total of your reimbursements cannot exceed $5,000 each year.

Yes, but you may not claim the tax credit on the same expenses reimbursed from Dependent Care Reimbursement Account and amounts reimbursed from the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account reduce the amounts eligible for the tax credit. In most cases using the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account will result in a greater tax savings than taking the tax credit. You can complete the DCRA Worksheet to help you determine which is best for you.