Form 2441 line 4 earned income.

Reference table

Why line 4 matters

The credit cannot be based on expenses larger than your earned income. Line 6 is the smallest of line 3 (expenses up to $3,000 for one qualifying person or $6,000 for two or more), line 4 (your earned income) and line 5 (your spouse’s earned income if married filing jointly; otherwise your own line 4). Low earned income, either yours or your spouse’s, can therefore shrink the credit.

What counts

The instructions say earned income generally includes the amount on Form 1040 line 1z minus any foreign earned income excluded on Form 2555 line 43 and minus any amount also reported on Schedule SE for clergy or for church employee income of $108.28 or more; the amount on Schedule SE line 3 minus any deduction on Schedule 1 line 15; and, for a statutory employee, line 1 of Schedule C. If you use either optional method to figure self-employment tax, the amounts from Schedule SE lines 3 and 4b are used. You must reduce earned income by any loss from self-employment.

Combat pay and deemed income

You may elect to include nontaxable combat pay (Form W-2, box 12, code Q), and on a joint return each spouse can decide separately. The election only produces a larger credit if your other earned income is less than line 3. If a student or disabled spouse is treated as having deemed income of $250 or $500 a month, check box B at the top of the form.

Worked example

Wages on line 1z are $52,000 and there is no self-employment or combat pay, so line 4 is $52,000. With $40,000 of wages and a $3,000 net self-employment loss, line 4 is $37,000. All figures are illustrative.

Limits of this page

You still need the details of your own return, and married filers enter their spouse’s figure on line 5 separately. The instructions refer to Pub. 503 for more detail. If your spouse died in 2025, see Pub. 503.

Sources

• Instructions for Form 2441 (2025): Line-by-line instructions, worksheets and limits. Read November 2, 2026.
• Form 2441 (2025): The form itself, for exact line wording. Read November 2, 2026.

These are the tax year 2025 edition instructions and forms (published for returns filed in 2026). The IRS revises them each year, so thresholds, line numbers and limits can change; check the current edition before relying on a figure.