The federal government also offers tax credits. This means that if a person spends money on certain things, and meets all the rules of the credit program, the credit can be up to 35 percent of your qualifying expenses, depending upon your adjusted gross income. For example, the Child and Dependent Care Credit is for parents who work, but have to pay over $3,000 a year for someone to take care of their children while they are working. Each credit has many different rules that people must meet. However, if they do meet them, the federal government will take $3,000 off of their taxes, to help the parents continue to work.