Childcare Cost Calculator

Childcare is one of the largest expenses for young families in healthcare, and shift work makes it harder: early starts, nights, weekends, call and last-minute schedule changes. This calculator adds up the full cost — not just daycare tuition — and shows how much tax benefits can save.

What this calculator does

Enter the number of children in full-time care and the monthly cost per child, school-age children who need after-school care and its cost, backup care days and their daily cost, summer camp per school-age child, whether you'll use a dependent care FSA, your marginal tax rate, and your household's monthly take-home pay. It shows:

• annual childcare cost,
• cost after tax benefits,
• your tax savings,
• the share of take-home pay going to childcare, and
• the monthly average.

The chart breaks your annual cost into full-time care, after-school care, summer and backup care.

The formula in plain English

Annual cost = (full-time children × monthly cost × 12) + (school-age children × after-school cost × 10 months) + (school-age children × summer camp) + (backup days × daily cost).

Tax savings with a dependent care FSA = up to $7,500 of expenses × your marginal tax rate (federal, state and payroll taxes, since FSA money avoids all three). Expenses above the FSA can still claim the child and dependent care credit, up to its expense limit minus your FSA dollars.

Without an FSA, the calculator uses the credit only: 20% of up to $3,000 of expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more. That's the rate most higher-income households receive; families with lower incomes can get up to 50% starting in 2026.

A worked example

Ali and Fatima Hassan — he's an ICU nurse and she's a hospitalist — have a toddler in daycare at $1,800 a month and a first-grader in after-school care at $450 a month. They need about 20 backup days a year at $180 a day for call and early shifts, and summer camp costs $2,500. Their household take-home is about $14,000 a month, and their combined marginal rate is about 35%.

• Annual cost: about $32,200.
• FSA savings: about $2,625.
• After-tax cost: about $29,600, or roughly 18% of take-home pay.
• Monthly average: about $2,680.

Backup care is only about 11% of the total, but it's often the piece families forget to budget for.

Why it matters at each career stage

If you're: Resident / fellow

Training schedules make childcare hard and expensive. Ask your program about childcare subsidies, on-site centers and backup care. Many residents rely on a mix of daycare and family help — budget for the paid part honestly.

If you're: Employed

Enroll in the dependent care FSA during open enrollment; you can't usually add it mid-year without a qualifying event. If you're considering part-time work, compare the reduced income with lower childcare costs.

If you're: Practice owner

Owners may be able to set up a dependent care assistance plan for the practice. Ask your accountant about the rules for owners.

Ways to lower the cost

Use the FSA. At a 35% marginal rate, the full $7,500 saves about $2,600 a year.

Ask about employer benefits. Backup care programs and on-site centers can cut costs significantly.

Consider a nanny share with another family if your hours are irregular.

Coordinate schedules. Some couples arrange shifts so one parent is home more often, reducing paid care hours.

Plan for the long run. Costs drop when children start school, then rise for summer and activities. Look at the next five years, not just this one.

Next, protect your family with the life insurance calculator, and check your paycheck with the take-home pay calculator.