Taxpayer asks:
My childcare provider says that she doesn’t know her TIN? but she has her state G.E. tax license number. She doesn’t want to give me her social security number, which is understandable, but I do want credit for this expense. What can I, or should I, do?
When I plugged in the number with H&R block it wouldn’t take it…but Turbo Tax did…but I’d rather file with H&R, because it’s cheaper.
Taxgirl says:
I hate that my cynical-meter went up – but it did.
My gut is that your childcare provider does not wish to give you her tax info because she may not be reporting all of the income. Just a hunch.
If you leave the TIN out, your credit could be disallowed unless you can show you used “due diligence” to get it. The best way to prove this is to ask your child care provider to complete a form W-10. You can download the form W-10 as a pdf here (note that it’s not in the list of forms on IRS website, I think that’s an oversight).
As a heads up, a childcare provider who refuses to furnish a TIN can be fined $50 for each instance. Clearly, if there’s a fine, the provider is likely to be angry at you. One of my friends had a provider who flat out told her that she would not allow my friend to claim the expenses on her taxes because she would not claim it on her taxes – that’s really unfair. If someone is willing to play those kind of games with you, why do you believe that he or she is looking out for the best interest of your child? This is why I highly recommend that you use someone who will comply and not make things difficult.
You can read more about child care expenses here.
Before you go: be sure to read my disclaimer. Remember, I’m a lawyer and we love disclaimers.
If you have a question, here’s how to Ask The Taxgirl.
