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We are from the government and we are here to help. Most of us would scream in fear and run the other way like Homer Simpson. Alas, the IRS is saying such words and they are actually true regarding a tax credit you can claim.

A quick world on tax credits. They are the proverbial golden egg for taxpayers, yet most people do not realize as much. If you have the choice of claiming a tax deduction or tax credit, always go with the tax credit. Why? It will save you more money.

Why is the tax credit so powerful? The answer is simple. A tax credit is a dollar for dollar reduction from the actual amount of tax you owe the IRS. You deduct it from the final tax amount you would normally write a check for to the IRS.

So, what does all this have to do with sending your kids to summer camp? Many working parents must arrange for care of their children during the school vacation period. The answer is usually some form of summer camp. If the kids are under 13, I have good news.

You can claim the cost of camp as part of the child care credit. Oddly, this can only be claimed for a day camp. If the kids stay overnight, the cost does not qualify. Why this is so is very unclear.

The amount you can claim involves a bit of math and the total credit is capped at $3,000 for a single child and no more than $6,000 for two or more children. The calculation is essentially 20 to 35 percent of the cost of the camp.

The sliding scale starts at 15,000 dollars. Up to this amount, you can claim a credit of 35 percent of your cost. The percentage decreases as you make more money. It levels off at 20 percent for people making $43,000 or more.

As always, reading the instructions from the IRS is advisable. In this case, we are talking about publication 503. You can download it directly form the website of the IRS, but be warned it is written in tax lingo to a certain extent.

I fully understand that thinking about taxes in the middle of summer is probably not high on your list of things to do. In this case, it should be. A tax credit is a valuable thing, so make sure to claim all you can.