Health & Family · Live

Childcare costs,
projected to kindergarten.

Enter one or more kids' ages and your state — see cost by age bracket, the full multi-year total through kindergarten, and the optimal 2026 split between your Dependent Care FSA and the Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit.

Cost guide2026 OBBBA rules

Inputs

Your household

Children

Child 1

yrmo

Up to 6 children. Costs assume all kids are in paid care simultaneously until each reaches kindergarten (age 5).

State

Cost index: 1.00× national avg

Filing status

Married filing separately isn't supported — the CDCTC generally isn't available on that status anyway.

Household AGI (yearly)

Dependent Care FSA electioncap $7,500

$7,500/yr

Current annual childcare cost

$12,960

1 child · National average

Projected total to kindergarten

$41,520

All kids' remaining months of paid care, priced by the age-bracket rate that applies each year (infant → toddler → preschool → school-age).

Best combined tax benefit

$1,474

FSA tax savings + CDCTC, optimally split. See recommendation below.

Breakdown

Cost by child & age bracket

Child	Bracket	Monthly	Annual	To kindergarten
Child 11y 6m	Toddler	$1,080	$12,960	$41,520
Total			$12,960	$41,520

2026 tax rules

Dependent Care FSA vs. Child & Dependent Care Credit

35% credit rate

Your $7,500 FSA election fully consumes your $3,000 credit-eligible expense cap — you get $0 from the Child & Dependent Care Credit at this election. The 2026 FSA limit ($7,500) can now exceed the two-child credit cap ($6,000), a wrinkle that didn't exist under the old $5,000 FSA limit.

At your election ($7,500)

FSA tax savings: $1,474
Credit-eligible expenses: $0
Credit amount: $0
Total benefit: $1,474

Optimal split ($7,500 to FSA)

FSA tax savings: $1,474
Credit-eligible expenses: $0
Credit amount: $0
Total benefit: $1,474

Credit rate 35% and marginal tax rate 12.0% are both driven by your household AGI. The credit-eligible expense cap for one child is $3,000, reduced dollar-for-dollar by whatever you run through the FSA. FSA savings use your marginal income-tax rate plus 7.65% employee FICA (both exempt on Section 129 dependent-care dollars).

Cost guide

What childcare really costs — and how to keep more of it.

Childcare is one of the largest ongoing line items in a family budget — for many households with an infant, it rivals rent or a mortgage payment. Unlike the one-time gear or delivery costs covered by our Baby Cost Calculator, childcare is a recurring, multi-year expense that changes shape as your child ages — which is exactly what this calculator projects.

Why cost drops as your child gets older

Childcare pricing is driven largely by state-mandated caregiver-to-child ratios. Infants typically require one caregiver per 3–4 children; by preschool age that ratio loosens to roughly one caregiver per 10–12 children. Fewer staff per child means lower cost per child — nationally, infant care averages roughly $1,230/month, dropping to about $1,080/month for toddlers, $920/month for preschoolers, and $770/month for before/after-school care once a child starts kindergarten-age schooling.

State matters enormously too — full-time infant care ranges from roughly $5,400/year in the lowest-cost states to well over $20,000/year in Massachusetts, and over $28,000/year in DC. This calculator applies the same state cost-of-living index used in our Baby Cost Calculator to each age bracket.

The 2026 OBBBA changes

Two federal provisions that directly affect childcare affordability change for the 2026 tax year under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA):

Dependent Care FSA limit: $5,000 → $7,500/year ($3,750 if married filing separately) — the first increase to this pre-tax benefit since 1986. Every dollar you run through a DCFSA avoids both federal income tax and the 7.65% employee share of FICA.
Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit: max rate 35% → 50%, with a new two-tier phase-down. The rate drops 1 percentage point per $2,000 of AGI above $15,000 (the same $15,000 threshold applies regardless of filing status) until it hits a 35% floor, then drops another point per $2,000 (single/head of household) or $4,000 (married filing jointly) of AGI above $75,000/$150,000, flooring at 20%.

The wrinkle: maxing your FSA can zero out your credit

The Child & Dependent Care Credit applies to qualifying expenses up to $3,000 (one child) or $6,000 (two or more children) — but that cap is reduced dollar-for-dollar by whatever you've already run through a Dependent Care FSA. Under the old $5,000 FSA limit, there was always at least $1,000 of headroom left for the credit on a two-child household. With the new $7,500 FSA limit exceeding the $6,000 two-child credit cap, a family that simply maxes out their FSA can accidentally reduce their credit-eligible expenses to $0 — and depending on their tax rate and family size, that can leave real money on the table.

This calculator computes the actual dollar split — not a rule of thumb — between DCFSA election and credit-eligible expenses that maximizes your combined benefit, given your household's marginal tax rate, filing status, and number of children.

A worked example

A married couple filing jointly with $120,000 household AGI and two children (a 6-month-old and a 30-month-old) in national-average-cost daycare spends about $27,720/year on childcare. Their 2026 CDCTC rate at that income is 35% (past the tier-1 floor, but still below the $150,000 tier-2 threshold for joint filers). If they simply elect the full $7,500 into their Dependent Care FSA, they save about $1,474/year in taxes — but because $7,500 exceeds their $6,000 two-child credit cap, they get $0 from the credit, for a total benefit of $1,474. The optimal split for this household is actually $0 to the FSA, claiming the full $6,000 of credit-eligible expenses instead — worth $2,100 at their 35% credit rate, about $626 more than maxing the FSA. The true optimum depends on exactly where the AGI-driven credit rate lands versus the household's marginal tax rate plus FICA, so it flips direction at higher incomes; run your own numbers above, since a small change in AGI or child count can change which side wins.

Disclaimer

All figures are national averages (EPI Childcare Cost Database) adjusted by a state cost-of-living index, and 2026 federal tax figures reflect the OBBBA as enacted. This tool is for informational planning purposes only and does not constitute tax or financial advice — confirm your Dependent Care FSA elections with your employer's plan documents and consult a tax professional for guidance specific to your situation, especially around state tax treatment, which is not modeled here.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-15

Age-bracket cost figures are national averages from the Economic Policy Institute Childcare Cost Database, adjusted by state cost-of-living index. 2026 Dependent Care FSA and Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit figures reflect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) as enacted, cross-checked against IRS Publication 503's step-table mechanic. Rates, thresholds, and formulas are checked against IRS Publication 503 and updated when the underlying rules change.

FAQ

Common questions

How much does daycare cost per month?+

Nationally, infants average around $1,230/month, toddlers about $1,080/month, preschoolers about $920/month, and before/after-care for school-age kids about $770/month. Costs are highest for infants because of stricter caregiver-to-child ratio requirements, and they vary sharply by state — enter your state above to apply a real cost-of-living multiplier.

What is the 2026 Dependent Care FSA limit?+

Starting in 2026, the OBBBA raises the Dependent Care FSA contribution limit from $5,000 to $7,500 per year ($3,750 if married filing separately) — the first increase since 1986. Contributions are exempt from federal income tax and the 7.65% employee FICA tax.

How does the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit change in 2026?+

The maximum credit rate rises from 35% to 50% of qualifying expenses, with a new two-tier phase-down: it drops 1 percentage point per $2,000 of AGI over $15,000 (same $15,000 threshold for every filing status) until it floors at 35%, then drops another point per $2,000 single/$4,000 joint over $75,000 single/$150,000 joint, flooring at 20%.

Can I use both the Dependent Care FSA and the tax credit?+

Yes, but not on the same dollars. The credit's expense cap ($3,000 for one child, $6,000 for two or more) is reduced dollar-for-dollar by whatever you already ran through a DCFSA. Since the 2026 FSA limit ($7,500) now exceeds the two-child credit cap ($6,000), maxing your FSA can zero out credit eligibility entirely — this calculator finds the split that maximizes your combined benefit.

Should I max out my Dependent Care FSA in 2026?+

It depends on your marginal tax rate and number of kids. Higher earners (above the credit's phase-down floor) usually come out ahead maxing the FSA, since FSA savings track your income-tax-plus-FICA rate. Lower-income households, where the credit rate is 50% and the marginal tax rate is low, often do better claiming more through the credit instead. This calculator computes the actual optimal split for your numbers rather than a rule of thumb.

How much will childcare cost in total before kindergarten?+

It depends on your child's current age — a newborn has roughly 5 years of paid care ahead, aging through progressively cheaper brackets (infant → toddler → preschool), while a 4-year-old has only months left. This calculator projects the full remaining cost to kindergarten (age 5) for each child, priced at the bracket rate that applies as they age.

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