Child Care Cost Calculator

Care for young children is one of the largest line items in a family budget, and the right arrangement, daycare, a nanny, or an au pair, changes the math considerably. This tool estimates what that care will cost from the calculator's built-in prices and shows the tax savings a Dependent Care FSA can bring.

The estimate starts from a monthly price for each child by care type and age group, scaled by your hours per week against a 40-hour week: a daycare center is $1,230 for an infant, $1,100 for a toddler, $950 for a preschooler and $600 for a school-age child, and a family daycare home $900, $850, $750 and $500. A nanny is priced at $18 an hour for one child, $21 for two and $24 for three, times your weekly hours and 4.33 weeks a month; an au pair is a flat $20,000 a year. Twelve months make the annual cost. There is no state input, so compare the result with local prices. It then shows the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) savings on a contribution of $7,500 (the 2026 limit) or your care cost if lower: the money skips federal income tax at an estimated rate of 12% (household income up to $50,000 or left blank), 22% (up to $100,000) or 32% (above that), and the 7.65% Social Security and Medicare tax as well. The limit rose for 2026: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21) lifted it from $5,000 to $7,500 ($3,750 if married filing separately) for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025, and because that money comes out before taxes are figured, it can lower your overall tax bill noticeably.

Treat the output as an estimate, since real costs swing with the specific provider, urban versus rural settings, and any extra services. Nanny care in particular carries less obvious expenses such as payroll taxes, benefits, and agency fees that are easy to leave out of a first pass. It also pays to read your employer's DCFSA terms closely, because contribution limits and eligibility rules can vary from one plan to the next.