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Child and dependent care tax credit calculator for 2026 and 2025
Paying for day care, after-school care or summer day camp so you can work? Enter your filing status, income, care costs and any dependent care FSA. See your estimated federal credit, your credit percentage and how a dependent care FSA changes it. Covers 2026 and 2025. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
The AGI line on Form 1040.
Children under 13 you claim as dependents, or a dependent or spouse who can't care for themselves.
Day care, after-school care, day camp. Enter the total you paid providers, even the part your FSA paid back to you. The calculator subtracts the FSA for you.
The yearly total you chose or were paid through work. After the year ends, it's W-2 box 10. Before that, use your FSA election or pay stubs. Enter 0 if you have none.
Wages and self-employment income for the year. Married filing jointly: use whichever spouse earned less. Leave blank only if that amount is more than $3,000 (one qualifying person) or $6,000 (two or more).
Your estimated credit
How your FSA affects it
An estimate, not tax advice. The credit is nonrefundable: it can lower your federal income tax to zero, but you don't get back any amount above the tax you owe. The FSA lowers your taxable income instead, and that saving isn't shown here. Check your figures on Form 2441 or with a tax professional.
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Good to know
The rules, with IRS sources
Costs that count. You can count up to $3,000 of care costs for one qualifying person, or $6,000 for two or more. A qualifying person is a child under 13 you claim as a dependent, or a spouse or dependent who can't care for themselves and lived with you for more than half the year. The care has to let you (and your spouse, if married) work or look for work. If you're divorced or separated, generally only the parent the child lived with for more of the year can take the credit, even if the other parent claims the child as a dependent. Paying a relative can count, but not your spouse, the child's parent, someone you claim as a dependent, or your own child under 19. You'll need the provider's name, address and tax ID. Sources: IRS Pub. 503, Form 2441 instructions (2026 draft).
Credit percentage for 2026. The credit is a percentage of the costs that count. Your percentage depends on your AGI (adjusted gross income, the AGI line on Form 1040). Form 2441 is the IRS form where you claim the credit. Starting in 2026, the top rate rises from 35% to 50%. It's 50% if AGI is $15,000 or less and drops 1 point for each $2,000 (or part of $2,000) above that, to 35% once AGI is over $43,000. It stays 35% up to $150,000 AGI for joint filers, or $75,000 for everyone else. Above that it drops 1 point for each $4,000 for joint filers, or each $2,000 for everyone else, down to 20% once AGI is over $206,000 (joint) or $103,000 (others). Sources: Form 2441 instructions (2026 draft), line 8 phaseout schedule, IRS: One Big Beautiful Bill provisions, IRS: Child and Dependent Care Credit information.
Credit percentage for 2025. 35% if AGI is $15,000 or less, dropping 1 point for each $2,000 (or part of $2,000) above that, to 20% once AGI is over $43,000. Source: IRS Pub. 503 (2025).
Dependent care FSA. Starting in 2026, up to $7,500 of dependent care benefits from your employer, including a dependent care FSA, can be tax-free ($3,750 if married filing separately). For 2025 the limit was $5,000 ($2,500). $7,500 is the most the law allows; your employer's plan may set a lower limit, so check yours. The tax-free FSA money is subtracted from the $3,000 (one qualifying person) or $6,000 (two or more) limit, and you can't count the same costs twice. Example: one qualifying person, $3,000 of costs and $3,000 from your FSA leaves $0 for the credit. Two qualifying people, $8,000 of costs and $4,000 from your FSA leaves $2,000 for the credit. An FSA of $3,000 or more with one qualifying person, or $6,000 or more with two or more, leaves no credit. If your employer paid more than the tax-free limit, the extra is added to your taxable pay. That extra does not reduce the amount you can count for the credit. Sources: Form 2441 instructions (2026 draft), What's New, IRS: Child and Dependent Care Credit information, IRS Pub. 503 (2025).
Earned income limit. The costs you count can't be more than your earned income or, if married filing jointly, the earned income of the spouse who earned less. Earned income means wages, tips and self-employment income, not interest, dividends or unemployment. A spouse who was a full-time student or couldn't care for themselves is treated as earning $250 a month with one qualifying person, or $500 a month with two or more. Source: IRS Pub. 503.
Summer day camp counts. Overnight camp doesn't. The cost of a day camp can count as care, even a camp built around one activity, such as computers or soccer. The cost of sending a child to overnight camp doesn't count. Summer school and tutoring programs don't count either. Sources: Form 2441 instructions (2026 draft), IRS Pub. 503. Programs can give families a receipt with the provider details Form 2441 asks for using our free child care receipt generator.
Married filing separately. Single, head of household and married-filing-jointly filers can take the credit. Married people filing separately usually can't. The exception: you can file separately and still take it only if your spouse didn't live in your home for the last 6 months of the year, your home was the qualifying person's home for more than half the year, and you paid more than half the cost of keeping it up (rent or mortgage, utilities, food, repairs). Source: IRS Pub. 503.
It's nonrefundable. The credit can lower your federal income tax to zero, but you can't get a refund for any part of it above your tax. This calculator doesn't check your tax bill. Sources: IRS Pub. 503, IRS: Child and Dependent Care Credit information.
Not tax advice. This is an estimate from the IRS rules as published on irs.gov, checked November 8, 2026. The 2026 Form 2441 instructions are still a draft, so details could change. It doesn't handle care you paid this year for an earlier year, or business partners who get care benefits from their partnership. Filing a 2025 return? Choose 2025 in the calculator. Use Form 2441 or ask a tax professional before you file. Some states have their own child care credits too; check with your state's tax agency.
FAQ
Questions, answered
How much is the child care tax credit for 2026?
Between 20% and 50% of up to $3,000 in care costs for one qualifying person, or $6,000 for two or more. That's $600 to $1,500 for one person, or $1,200 to $3,000 for two or more. The 50% rate applies only to AGI of $15,000 or less. Filers with AGI over $43,000 and up to $150,000 (joint) or $75,000 (other filers) get 35%: up to $1,050 or $2,100.
Does summer camp qualify for the child care credit?
Day camp can, even a sports or computer camp, if it lets you work or look for work and the child is under 13. Overnight camp doesn't count. The IRS says so in Publication 503 and the Form 2441 instructions.
Can I use a dependent care FSA and the credit together?
Yes, but not for the same costs. Tax-free FSA money reduces the $3,000 or $6,000 cap. With two or more qualifying people and more than $6,000 in costs, an FSA under $6,000 leaves room for a credit on the rest, up to the cap. One person's cap is $3,000, so an FSA under $3,000 leaves room.
Is the FSA or the credit better?
It depends on your tax bracket and credit percentage. The FSA lowers your taxable pay. The credit saves a percentage of your costs. Which saves more depends on your income and your plan. A tax professional can run the numbers for you.
Is the child and dependent care credit refundable?
No. It can bring your federal income tax down to zero, but any part above that isn't paid out.
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