Form IT-216: Claim for Child and Dependent Care Credit (2026)

Q: How much income can be excluded on IT-221?

You may exclude up to <b>$5,000 ($10,000 for joint filers)</b> of qualifying disability income, reduced by any NY pension or annuity exclusion previously claimed.

Q: Are HSA contributions deductible for New York tax?

No—unlike the federal system, New York does <b>not</b> allow an HSA deduction.

Last reviewed: 2025-10-29

Use the New York Tax Form Calculator Form IT-216 — Child and Dependent Care Credit as a stand alone tax form calculator to quickly calculate specific amounts for your 2026 New York state tax return. Alternatively, you can use one of our Combined Federal and State Tax Estimators to quickly calculate your salary, tax, and take-home pay.

Form IT-216 allows eligible New York taxpayers to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit if they paid care expenses for one or more qualifying persons so the taxpayer (and spouse, if married) could work or look for work. The credit applies to both full-year residents and part-year residents of New York and is claimed with your resident return (IT-201) or nonresident/part-year return (IT-203).

The credit is refundable for New York State, and the New York City portion of the credit may apply to full-year or part-year NYC residents subject to their FAGI and child age criteria.

Who qualifies: You qualify if you (or both spouses) had earned income, paid qualified care expenses for a qualifying person (child under age 13 or a dependent/spouse physically/mentally unable to care for self), and lived with the qualifying person for more than half the year. Your filing status must be single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse, or married filing jointly. Married filing separate federal return usually disqualifies you for the credit.
Qualified expenses: For one qualifying person the maximum is $3,000; for two or more qualifying persons the maximum is $6,000 (for New York State calculations). If more qualifying persons (three or more), increase limits based on instructions. The care provider must not be your spouse or the parent of a qualifying child under age 13, and must report their income to the IRS.
New York adjusted gross income (NYAGI) table: The credit percentage varies inversely with NYAGI. As NYAGI increases, the allowable credit percentage decreases per the schedule in the instructions. For New York City residents, additional restrictions apply (FAGI ≤ $30,000 for the NYC child & dependent care credit).
Part-year residents: Complete the allocation worksheet on the back of IT-216 if you were part-year New York resident or part-year NYC resident during the year. Allocate the credit based on the ratio of days resident or the portion of income sourced to New York.
Transfer to return: Enter the computed credit on your resident return’s credit line (IT-201) or nonresident/part-year return (IT-203). Attach Form IT-216 and all supporting documentation (care provider ID, amounts paid, relationship of care recipient to you) to ensure audit defensibility.

Claim for Child and Dependent Care Credit
1	Have you already filed your New York State income tax return? If Yes, you must file an amended New York State return and include Form IT-216 to claim this credit.							Yes No
2	Persons or organizations who provided the care. (If you have more than two providers, see instructions.)
	1st Care provider	A – Care provider name (first name, middle initial, and last name, or business name)					C – Identifying number (SSN or EIN)	D – Amount paid (see instr.)

		B – Number and street			City		State	ZIP code

	2nd Care provider	A – Care provider name (first name, middle initial, and last name, or business name)					C – Identifying number (SSN or EIN)	D – Amount paid (see instr.)

		B – Number and street			City		State	ZIP code

3	Qualifying persons you are claiming. List in order from youngest to oldest. (If you are claiming more than four qualifying persons, mark an X in the box and see instructions.)
A First name		MI	B Last name	Suffix	C Qualified expenses paid	D Person with disability (see instr.)	E Social security number	F Date of birth (mmddyyyy)




Note: If you are claiming expenses paid for a dependent child, include only those qualified expenses paid through the day preceding the child’s 13th birthday.
3a	Total of line 3, column C amounts. Include amounts from additional sheet(s), if any							3a
4	Can you claim an exemption for all the qualified persons listed on line 3 and any additional sheet(s)?							Yes No
5	Enter the smallest of: – line 3a above; or – federal Form 2441, line 3; or – 3,000 if one qualifying person, or 6,000 if two or more qualifying persons							Whole dollars only
								5
6	Enter your earned income (see instructions)							6
7	If your filing status is Married filing joint return, enter your spouse’s earned income; all others, enter the amount from line 6 (see instructions)							7
8	Enter the smallest of line 5, 6, or 7							8
9	Enter the amount from: federal Form 1040A, line 22, or federal Form 1040, line 38						9
10	Enter the decimal amount that applies to the amount on line 9 from the Table for line 10 in the instructions							10
11	Multiply line 8 by the decimal amount on line 10 (enter here and on line 12 on the back)							11
12	Amount from line 11							12
13	Enter your New York adjusted gross income (Form IT-201 filers, line 33; Form IT-203 filers, line 32)Use the New York State child and dependent care credit limitation table in the instructions to determine the decimal to be entered on this line							13
14	Multiply line 12 by the decimal amount on line 13. This is your New York State child and dependent care credit (see instructions)							14
Part-year New York State residents
15	Enter the amount from Form IT-203, line 40 If line 15 is equal to or more than line 14, stop. You do not have excess credit. If line 15 is less than line 14, continue on line 16 below.							15
16	Subtract line 15 from line 14. This is your excess child and dependent care credit							16
17	Enter the amount from Form IT-203-ATT, line 29 (If you are not required to file Form IT-203-ATT, leave blank and continue on line 18 below.) If line 17 is equal to or more than line 16, stop. Do not continue with this worksheet. Enter the line 16 amount on Form IT-203-ATT, line 30. If line 17 is less than line 16, enter the line 16 amount on Form IT-203-ATT, line 30, and continue on line 18 below.							17
18	Subtract line 17 from line 16. This is your remaining excess child and dependent care credit							18
19	Enter the amount from line 19, Column D, of the Part-year resident income allocation worksheet in the instructions for Form IT-203						19
20	Enter the amount from line 19, Column A, of the Part-year resident income allocation worksheet in the instructions for Form IT-203						20
21	Divide line 19 by line 20 (round the result to the fourth decimal place). This amount cannot exceed 100% (1.0000)							21
22	Multiply line 18 by line 21. Enter the result here and on Form IT-203-ATT, line 9. This is the refundable portion of your New York State part-year resident child and dependent care credit							22
New York City child and dependent care credit
If you were a resident of New York City at any time during the tax year and your federal adjusted gross income is $30,000 or less (see Note under New York City credit on page 1 of the instructions) and you listed a child under 4 years old as of December 31, on line 3, complete line 23 and see page 4 of the instructions.
23	Enter the portion of the total expenses from line 3a that was paid for children under 4 years old							23
IT-201 filers:
24	Refundable New York City child and dependent care credit (from Worksheet 1, line 7 or line 13)							24
25	Add lines 14 and 24; also enter this amount on Form IT-201, line 64							25
26	Part-year New York City resident nonrefundable New York City child and dependent care credit (from Worksheet 1, line 8); also enter this amount on Form IT-201-ATT, line 9a .							26
IT-203 filers:
27	Nonrefundable portion of your part-year New York City resident New York City child and dependent care credit (from Worksheet 1, line 8); also enter this amount on Form IT-203, line 52 .							27
28	Refundable portion of your part-year New York City resident New York City child and dependent care credit (from Worksheet 1, line 13); also enter this amount on Form IT-203-ATT, line 9a							28
Part-year New York City resident filers only:
29	Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 10							29
30	Enter the amount from Worksheet 1, line 11							30

How the Credit Is Calculated

Step 1 – Enter total qualified expenses paid for the year (up to the limit: $3,000 for one qualifying person, $6,000 for two or more).
Step 2 – Check your NYAGI and use the table in the instructions to find the applicable percentage for your amount of qualified expenses.
Step 3 – Multiply the qualified expense amount by the percentage to determine the credit.
Step 4 – If part-year resident or NYC resident, complete the relevant allocation worksheet to apportion the result.

Example: Full-year resident has NYAGI of $40,000, paid $5,000 in qualifying child-care expenses for two children. Based on the NYAGI table the credit percentage is, say, 20%. The credit = $5,000 × 20% = $1,000. That amount is refundable and shown on IT-216 line 12. If you also lived in NYC, and your FAGI is ≤ $30,000 and you had a child under age 4, you may claim an additional NYC credit percentage on Worksheet 2.

NYC portion: Full-year NYC residents with a qualifying child under age 4 and FAGI ≤ $30,000 may claim the NYC child and dependent care credit (up to 75% of the NYS credit). Part-year residents complete Worksheet 2 on the back of IT-216 to determine the portion of the NYC credit.

Record-keeping: Record the care provider’s name, address, SSN/EIN; date of birth of each qualifying person; amount paid; and days of care service. Maintain these records for at least three years, as care-provider audits are common.

Last reviewed: 2025-10-29: If you believe this form requires an update, please contact us.

Planning & Compliance Advice

Pay attention to the number of qualifying persons and the timing of expenses—only amounts paid for care so you could work or look for work qualify, and for children that qualify under age or disability criteria. Prepaying or delaying care expenses must be carefully timed to fall within the tax year and meet the work requirement.

Part-year residents should document the exact date they moved into or out of New York (or NYC) and allocate care-costs accordingly. If you move mid-year, retain move documentation (lease, utility bills, employer rcds) to support your allocation fraction.

For families with multiple children and changing incomes, run alternative scenarios (state credit alone vs. combined with NYC credit) to optimise filing strategy. Early-year review ensures you incur enough eligible expenses and maintain the necessary work-or-look-for-work status.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does IT-203-ATT replace IT-112-R or IT-112-C?

No. Those forms calculate credits for taxes paid to other jurisdictions, and their totals are then entered onto IT-203-ATT where indicated.

How much income can be excluded on IT-221?

You may exclude up to $5,000 ($10,000 for joint filers) of qualifying disability income, reduced by any NY pension or annuity exclusion previously claimed.

Can part-owners of a property claim IT-119?

Yes — if the notice issued reflects the property key and entity ownership, each owner must enter their share of the underpayment on IT-119 and may attach separate forms as required.

Can I use IT-203-B to claim the NY College Tuition Deduction?

Yes. Part 2 of IT-203-B calculates the allowable college tuition itemized deduction or credit, depending on your AGI and tuition amounts paid.

Are HSA contributions deductible for New York tax?

No—unlike the federal system, New York does not allow an HSA deduction.

Important Notes

All calculations are estimates for guidance only. Always review your return and consider professional advice when submitting official filings.