the DCTC is for employment-related child care. So if your child was in preschool while you worked, that is applicable. If you paid babysitters under the table, you can't declare that for a tax credit; you need to document that you paid someone or someplace (a nanny with payroll records, a preschool). You need to submit a receipt documenting that you spent the money on child care in order to claim the credit. (we submit the tuition bill from the preschool for ours).

Submitting the preschool payments is worthwhile.

My husband is salaried, and I am a SAHM, but also run my own (very small, modest for now) company. I made $5800 in 2012, and spent $1600 on preschool for one child and $750 on babysitting for the other while I earned that money. Does anyone know if 1)I am eligible for claiming the Child and Dependent Care Credit and / or 2) It is beneficial to do so? I have done all the obvious reading about this, and am left with another question: I can't document my babysitters with tax IDs etc b/c they were just casual sitters, not an "employee," or nanny. Do I skip the babysitting expenses and just base the credit on preschool expenses?
Thank you for any help you might be able to give us!