W-2 box 10, dependent care benefits.

What counts in box 10

The W-2 instructions tell the employer to show the total dependent care benefits under a section 129 dependent care assistance program that it paid or incurred for you. That includes the fair market value of care in a daycare facility the employer provided or sponsored, and amounts paid or incurred for dependent care assistance in a section 125 cafeteria plan. The three typical forms are the fair market value of benefits provided in kind, an amount paid directly to a daycare facility or reimbursed to you, and benefits from your pre-tax contributions to a dependent care flexible spending account.

Employers report all amounts paid or incurred, regardless of any employee forfeitures, including amounts above the $5,000 exclusion. So a box 10 figure larger than $5,000 is common and is not an error on its own.

The excess is already taxable

The instructions say amounts over the plan’s exclusion are included in boxes 1, 3 and 5. The Form 2441 instructions repeat the point from the filer’s side: when you complete line 12, do not include amounts in box 10 that exceed your plan’s exclusion and are therefore reported as wages in box 1.

How it carries to Form 2441

If you received dependent care benefits for 2025, Form 2441 Part III figures what you can exclude, and it must be completed before you figure the child and dependent care credit in Part II. Benefits you got as an employee should be shown in box 10 of your W-2. The Form 2441 instructions give the maximum exclusion for 2025 as $5,000 ($2,500 if married filing separately), and say not to enter more than your own plan allows; for example, a plan that only allows $4,000 means $4,000 goes on line 21 instead of $5,000. Any line 26 amount above zero is taxable dependent care benefits that go on Form 1040 line 1e.

Worked example

Priya elects $5,000 for a dependent care FSA, and her employer adds $1,000. Her W-2 box 10 shows $6,000. The plan exclusion is $5,000, so $1,000 is above it. That $1,000 should already be in her box 1 wages, and she enters $5,000 (not $6,000) on Form 2441 line 12. Check the tool above with 6000 in box 10 to see the split.

Check the limit for the current year

The exclusion limit is set by law, and the 2025 Form 2441 instructions are the source for the $5,000 and $2,500 figures here. The 2026 W-2 instructions also reference a $5,000 exclusion in this box. The limit field in the tool is editable so you can enter a different amount from a later Pub. 15-B or a later edition of the Form 2441 instructions.

More W-2 box guides

Other pages in this set: W-2 Box 11 Nonqualified Plans, W-2 Box 7 Social Security Tips, W-2 Box 13 Checkboxes, W-2 Box 8 Allocated Tips. For box 12 codes, use the W-2 box 12 lookup.

Sources

• General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026). Read November 2, 2026.
• Instructions for Form 2441 (2025). Read November 2, 2026.

IRS pages last reviewed April 30, 2026. Wage-base and exclusion figures are stated for the tax year named where they appear.