My son is four and goes to pre-K and a private school. Children are required to go to school at age five for kindergarten. Can I write off the tuition I pay the school for pre-K as a child care expense?

Nursery school and other prekindergarten costs generally qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit because the child is under age 13 and the educational benefits are considered incidental to the child care costs. The credit is limited to a maximum of $3,000 per child and $6,000 for two or more children in preschool. In addition, the credit is limited by the amount of your income, and to qualify you must be paying someone for you to work or seek work. See IRS Form 2441 and its instructions and IRS Pub 503 for more information.