Form W-10 for daycare providers

Form W-10, Dependent Care Provider's Identification and Certification, is a one-page form a parent gives you to fill in with your name, address and taxpayer identification number (SSN or EIN), and sign. The parent keeps it; nobody files it with the IRS. They need your details for Form 2441 and for dependent care FSA claims.

How to fill it out

Part I, name and address: your name or your daycare's business name, and the address where you provide care.
Taxpayer identification number: your SSN, or your EIN if you have one. Use the same number on all your daycare paperwork.
Certification: sign and date it.
Give it back to the parent. Keep a copy for yourself.

SSN or EIN?

If you run your daycare as a sole proprietor, you can use your SSN, but every family will have it on paper. An EIN is free from the IRS, takes a few minutes online, and is accepted everywhere a W-10 asks for a TIN. Most home providers switch to an EIN once they have more than one or two families.

You have to give your TIN

Under section 6109 of the tax code, a dependent care provider must give a valid taxpayer ID to the parents who pay them, and can face a penalty for not doing it. Without it, parents can still claim the credit if they show due diligence, but the relationship sours fast. Give it in January without being asked.

Alternatives the IRS accepts

The W-10 instructions say parents show due diligence by keeping any one of these:

a completed Form W-10;
a copy of the provider's Social Security card or driver's license (in states that put the SSN on it);
a recently printed letterhead or printed invoice with the provider's name, address and TIN.

A year-end tax statement with your name, address, TIN and the year's total does that job and gives parents the amount they need too.

One statement instead of a stack of W-10s. Daycare Binder makes the year-end statement with your name, address, TIN and each family's total paid. Pro prints statements for every family in one PDF. $12 a month.

Make a tax statement

Do I file Form W-10 with the IRS?

No. The parent keeps it with their records. You report your daycare income on Schedule C.

Do I give a W-10 to every family?

Only to families who ask. A statement for every family each January covers the rest.

Is a W-10 the same as a W-9?

No. A W-9 is used when a business must report payments to you on a 1099. Parents paying for child care use the W-10 or a statement instead.

Sources: Form W-10 (Rev. October 2020) and its instructions; Instructions for Form 2441 (2025), irs.gov, checked October 31, 2026. General information, not tax advice.