The One Number That Can Get Your Employer to Pay for Childcare
This guide is for Working mothers in the United States who use or are preparing to use licensed childcare (daycares, licensed home-based providers, preschools, afterschool programs) and know how expensive it can be.
Contributed By: Jake Arluck · Founder, Care Assembly
The Core Challenge
Childcare often costs more than your mortgage or rent. The cost of care is a major reason working mothers leave the workforce. Your employer may be able to assist with the bills in a way that’s good for both of you, via newly expanded federal and state tax incentives. But they probably don’t know this yet, and asking them can be nerve-wracking.
Key Insight
Your employer may not realize how much the economics of childcare support have changed. Expanded tax credits mean many employers can recover the majority of what they spend, making substantial support more affordable than they expect. Bringing this information to HR can open a conversation about a benefit that helps you afford care and helps your employer retain experienced people.
Practical Strategies
Bring one number. $5,000 of care support could cost your employer $2,500 or less after tax benefits in most states, and $1,000 or less in states with a complementary credit (currently NY, WI, WV, MS, GA, SC). You don’t need to master the nitty-gritty of the tax code; one number is enough to show the opportunity.
Connect care support to keeping good people. When childcare becomes unaffordable, employers risk losing experienced employees and spending time and money replacing them. Helping parents stay can make business sense even before tax credits reduce the cost. You can explain what support would mean for your ability to keep working without sharing more personal detail than you’re comfortable with.
Anticipate common misconceptions. Employers may think they’d have to build an onsite care center, or commit to a long contract, or wade through mountains of paperwork. They don’t. Employers can fund care through existing offsite providers on a short-term basis with no reserved seats, and use outside support to manage administration and compliance.
Keep the first message brief. A short email, or two minutes over coffee. Something like: “Could we explore employer contributions toward childcare? Expanded federal tax credits can offset 40–50% of qualifying childcare spending. Who would be the right person to review the potential cost with Finance?” For help choosing whom to approach and following up, see Josie’s HR Pitch Kit for Working Parents, especially Step 3, “Identify Your Audience,” and Step 5, “Follow-Up & Navigating Objections.”
A Small First STep
Write down your approximate annual childcare cost and check whether your provider is licensed. Then identify one person who handles benefits at your workplace and adapt the short message above. Your first ask is simply to explore the option; you don’t need to arrive with a finished proposal.
Jake Arluck runs Care Assembly, a New York firm that helps small and mid-sized employers pay for much of their employees' childcare using business tax credits that were expanded in 2026. Before this, he spent his career in strategy at McKinsey and Google. He lives in New York City with his wife and two preschool-age daughters.
Additional Resources:
- The Bipartisan Policy Center's plain-language guide to the expanded tax credit
- The IRS's own page on the credit
- Cost estimators an employer can run in a few minutes
