For 2010, you may use up to $3,000 of expenses paid in a year for one qualifying individual or $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals to figure the credit.
For an average family, the amount spent on child care or other dependant care (or both!) is much greater than this amount. This amount has been the same for many years, though the cost of dependent care has skyrocketed.
This especially impacts the "sandwich generation" who may be paying for care for both their own children and care for their parents.



