Form IT-216 Instructions: How to Claim New York’s Child and Dependent Care Credit (Tax Year 2025)

Form IT-216 is the New York State tax form used to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit. If you paid someone to care for a qualifying child or dependent so you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) could work or look for work, this credit can put real money back in your pocket at tax time. The instructions document, IT216I, walks taxpayers through eligibility rules, how to calculate the credit, and how it interacts with the federal child and dependent care credit claimed on your federal return.

This form is issued by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and applies to full-year residents, part-year residents, and nonresidents who owe New York tax and meet the qualifying criteria. It does not have digital fillable fields, so you’ll need to print the PDF and complete it by hand using a pen, then attach it to your New York State income tax return (typically Form IT-201 or IT-203).

Who Needs to File Form IT-216

You generally need this form if you paid for care for a child under age 13, or for a spouse or dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, so that you could work or actively search for employment. The care expenses must have been paid to someone other than your spouse, the child’s parent, or a dependent you claim on your return. Common qualifying expenses include daycare centers, after-school programs, summer day camps, and in-home caregivers.

New York’s credit is calculated as a percentage of the federal credit you claimed, so you must first complete the federal Form 2441 before working through IT-216. The percentage you’re allowed depends on your New York adjusted gross income, with lower-income taxpayers receiving a higher percentage of the federal credit.

When to Use This Form

File Form IT-216 along with your New York State income tax return for the same tax year in which you incurred the qualifying care expenses. For tax year 2025, that means submitting it with the return you file in early 2026. If you’re also claiming other state credits, it’s worth reviewing your full return for opportunities you might be missing — for example, taxpayers who support certain nonprofit or public programs sometimes qualify for benefits described in our guide to New York’s Contributions to Certain Funds Credit, which works similarly as a nonrefundable credit tied to specific criteria.

How to Fill Out and Submit It

Start by gathering your federal Form 2441 information, including the names, addresses, and taxpayer identification numbers of your care providers, along with the total amount paid to each. Form IT-216 asks you to reconcile these federal figures against New York’s own income thresholds and credit percentage table found directly in the instructions booklet.

Because this form isn’t fillable online, print a clean copy from the official Tax Department website before you begin. Use black ink, write legibly, and double-check that the amounts you enter match your federal return exactly — mismatches between federal and state figures are one of the most common reasons these claims get flagged for review. Once completed, attach the form to your paper or electronically filed IT-201 or IT-203 return, depending on your residency status during the year.

If you’re new to preparing New York returns by hand, it helps to get comfortable with how supplemental schedules generally work. Taxpayers dealing with depreciation adjustments, for instance, follow a similar attach-and-reconcile process explained in the Form IT-211 special depreciation instructions. And if you manage income through a trust or estate rather than as an individual, the allocation rules in the IT-205-A fiduciary allocation guide follow a comparable line-by-line format.

Keep copies of your care provider receipts, canceled checks, or payment records for at least three years after filing, since the Department of Taxation and Finance can request documentation to support the credit. The official IT216I instructions PDF includes worksheets and a complete credit percentage table based on income, so it’s worth reading through the full document before you start filling in numbers, rather than jumping straight to the form itself.