Dependent Care FSA Calculator

A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) lets you route pre-tax dollars toward eligible dependent care costs, and the money you set aside never gets taxed. Enter your expected care expenses and household income and this tool translates them into a concrete tax-savings figure, which for many households runs into the hundreds or thousands of dollars each year.

The estimate works by applying your marginal federal rate plus the 7.65% FICA to your care expenses, up to the annual limit, on the assumption that all of them go through the account. That limit rose to $7,500 for 2026, from $5,000, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Pub. L. 119-21), effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025. It then sets that saving beside the Child and Dependent Care Credit you could claim on the same expenses instead, based on your income, filing status and number of children, and names the larger of the two. State income tax, where your state levies one, saves you more still on top of the figure shown.

There is a catch built into the account: DCFSA dollars follow a use-it-or-lose-it rule, so anything left unspent when the year closes is forfeited. That makes a careful estimate of your eligible care expenses the most important input here. Padding your election to be safe tends to backfire, leaving money stranded in the account rather than back in your pocket.