File a simple tax return to learn how much money you can receive.

The amount you get depends on your income, your spouse’s income (if you file jointly), and the number of children or dependents you care for. Here’s how it works:

To get the CDCTC, you first need to track and add up your expenses to claim them. Qualifying expenses include paying a childcare provider to care for your children or your dependent family member while you work or look for work. You can claim up to $3,000 in qualifying expenses if you have one child or one dependent family member. If you have one or more children, and one or more dependent family members, you can claim up to $6,000 in qualifying expenses.

The CDCTC gives back between 20-35% of your claimed expenses, depending on your income, tax filing status, and the number of dependents. For example, if you are a single parent with two children who earned less than $43,000 in adjusted gross income that claimed $6,000 in expenses, you will get $2,100 back.

Calculating your CDCTC credit can seem complicated. Get Ahead Colorado recommends three free tax filing resources that make claiming the CDCTC easy by calculating your credit from the information you enter in your tax return form. You can also visit www.211colorado.org, call (866) 760-6489 toll-free, or text your ZIP CODE to 898-211 to get help or ask questions.

You do need to earn some income to get the CDCTC. If you are married, file your taxes jointly, and your spouse earns some income, you may be able to get the CDCTC even if you do not earn income because you are a full-time student or if you were unable to care for yourself without help.

Your family could claim the credit if you paid for care in 2022 for a dependent child under age 13 or a spouse or adult dependent who cannot care for themselves while you worked or looked for work.

The child or dependent claimed must have lived with you for at least half of the year.

In addition, you will need to show that you needed the child or dependent care in order to work or look for work. In a two-parent family, both spouses or partners must have needed the child or dependent care to work or to look for work unless one spouse was a full-time student or unable to care for themselves.

Any kind of child or dependent care can qualify. This includes daycare centers, a family day care home or a church, vacation day camps, or care provided by a neighbor or a relative. Before you file your taxes, make sure you have the EIN (Employer Identification Number) or the TIN (Tax Identification Number) for each care provider.

If a family receives free child care, such as from a state-subsidized program, that care cannot be used to qualify for the credit.