Don't deduct overnight camp, but ...
When school lets out for the summer, working parents face a child care dilemma: what to do with the youngsters while Mom and Dad are at the office.
Some families send the kids off to summer camp. That's a great experience for the kiddos and eases, at least temporarily, parental child care concerns.
But sleep-away camps, in the summer or any other time of the year, are not tax deductible.
However, if you decide instead to keep the kids at home and simply send them to day camp during the hours you're working, that expense could qualify as a claim for the child and dependent care credit.
If your care costs are for one child, you can count up to $3,000 of care expenses each year toward the credit. The expense amount is doubled for the cost of caring for two or more dependents.
Your actual tax credit can be up to 35 percent of your qualifying expenses, depending upon your income. And while that might not seem like a large percentage, remember that since it's a credit, you get to use it to offset your tax bill dollar for dollar.