Howdy.
My wife and I both worked Jan-June 2017. Then we moved, and I stayed home and "looked for work" while my wife worked July-Dec 2017. We paid about 300 bucks for our daughter to go to preschool 2 days a week.
As I read the instructions for form 2441, I'm confused, particularly by this concerning lines 4 and 5:
"For any month that your spouse wasn't a student or disabled, use your spouse's actual earned income if he or she worked during the month."
Here is where I have to put my income and my wife's income separately. If I do that, my income will be 0, and we will not qualify for the credit. But if someone is looking for work, they are supposed to still be eligible for the credit.
This has implications beyond just this year, as I will be in a similar situation for the next several months, and then plan on becoming a full time student in the fall. To compound matters further, this year we decided to put some of my wife's income into a childcare expense account which her employer offers.
Any and all help is appreciated.