45F Credit Pilot

The childcare tax credit most employers never claim

If you offer childcare benefits, IRC Section 45F can return 50–60% of the cost as a federal credit — now capped at $500K and stackable with 25 state credits. Get a CPA-signed eligibility report in 7 business days.

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$500K
New federal credit cap, up from $150K
$600K
Cap for eligible small businesses, at a 60% rate
25
States with credits that stack on the federal credit
10%
Separate credit on resource & referral spend
<1%
Of eligible employers currently claim it

Estimate your 45F opportunity

Eight quick questions, no email required. See your combined federal and state credit estimate, the documents you’ll need, and your next steps.

Step 1 of 8Eligibility check

What type of business entity are you?

The 45F credit is available to for-profit businesses with federal tax liability. This determines how the credit flows to your return.

The federal 45F credit, expanded

IRC Section 45F rewards employers for the childcare benefits they already provide. Here is how the credit actually works.

A permanently expanded cap
P.L. 119-21 (July 2025) raised the annual cap from $150K to $500K — and to $600K for eligible small businesses under $31M in gross receipts.
50% or 60% credit rate
Standard employers credit 50% of qualifying childcare expenditures; eligible small businesses credit 60%.
Facility credit — Form 8882
Operating, leasing, or contracting a childcare facility qualifies at the full rate. Third-party provider contracts now count under the expansion.
Resource & referral, separately
Backup care and resource & referral spend earns its own 10% credit on top of the facility credit — the line most advisors miss.
DCAP interaction
A Dependent Care FSA reduces the qualifying base dollar-for-dollar under IRC §129. Modeling it correctly protects the credit.
Carryforward & recapture
Unused credit carries forward up to 20 years (IRC §39). A 10-year federal recapture window applies — ongoing compliance matters.

25 state credits stack on top

More than half the country offers an employer childcare credit you can claim on the same expenditures as the federal credit.

New York
200% of the federal credit
The highest state multiplier nationally — up to a $500,000 state credit on the same qualifying spend (NY Tax Law §44).
Iowa
100% federal match
State taxes are reduced by 100% of the federal 45F credit amount, with up to $2M authorized statewide each year.
Alabama
75–100% credit
75% for employers with 25+ employees and up to 100% for smaller employers, capped at $600,000.

Worked example. A New York employer can reach a combined $543,000 in federal plus state credits on the same qualifying childcare spend — before any of the other 24 stacking states are considered.

Built for employers like yours

If you have 100+ employees and offer any childcare benefit, there is likely a credit to claim. These industries see it most.

Healthcare & hospitals
Shift-based workforces lean heavily on backup and on-site care — often qualifying on both the facility and resource & referral lines.
Manufacturing
Large headcounts and provider contracts add up fast, frequently stacking with a state credit in the operating region.
Hospitality & hotels
Non-standard hours make backup care common — and that spend earns the separate 10% credit most providers overlook.
Technology
Generous childcare benefits and DCAP programs are common; correct §129 modeling protects the qualifying base.
Financial services & PE portfolios
Multi-entity, multi-state structures unlock portfolio-wide scans across every stacking jurisdiction at once.
Professional services
Resource & referral and subsidy programs qualify even without an on-site facility under the P.L. 119-21 expansion.

How the Opportunity Scan works

A fixed-fee, CPA-signed eligibility report in four steps.

  1. 1
    Start your scan
    Pay the flat $3,500 fee and complete a short intake about your entity, benefits, and spend.
  2. 2
    Upload your documents
    Send your payroll summary, benefits guide, provider contracts, and prior return through a secure, encrypted upload.
  3. 3
    AI + CPA review
    We extract and structure your data, then a licensed CPA reviews every line — including the DCAP and state-stacking interactions.
  4. 4
    Get your signed report
    Receive a CPA-signed federal and state eligibility report within 7 business days. No commitment to implement.

Simple, fixed-fee pricing

Start with the scan. Implementation only makes sense once the numbers justify it — and you will know exactly where you stand.

Most popular
Opportunity Scan
CPA-signed federal and state eligibility report in 7 business days.

$3,500 one-time

  • Full federal + state credit estimate
  • Form 8882 line-by-line review
  • DCAP and stacking analysis
  • Personalized document checklist
Start your scan
Implementation Package
Full end-to-end credit structuring and documentation.

$15K–$35K per engagement

  • Credit structuring & optimization
  • Workpapers and filing support
  • DCAP restructuring where needed
  • Multi-year planning
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Annual Compliance Review
Ongoing protection against the 10-year recapture window.

$7,500 per year

  • Annual eligibility re-confirmation
  • Recapture monitoring
  • Documentation upkeep
  • Priority CPA support
Talk to us

PE portfolio scans: $50K–$150K per engagement, multi-entity and multi-state.

For CPAs & advisors

Refer clients to the 45F practice and share in the engagement. We handle the analysis, documentation, and CPA sign-off.

Become a partner

Frequently asked questions

The details behind the credit, with the IRC citations to back them.

Who signs your report

Every Opportunity Report is reviewed and signed by a licensed CPA — not generated and sent unread.

Busayo Ogunsanya, CPA, MST

Busayo Ogunsanya, CPA, MST

BigApple Accounting Tax & Advisory LLC · 250 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017

Busayo leads the 45F practice at BigApple Accounting, focused entirely on the employer childcare credit and the 25 state credits that stack on top of it. Each scan is built on his review of your specific facts — the entity structure, the DCAP interaction, and the state stacking that determine what you actually qualify for.

CPAMSTNYS License #105662

See exactly what you qualify for

A flat $3,500. A CPA-signed federal and state eligibility report in 7 business days. No commitment to implement.

Start your scanTry the free estimator