What's inside
- Decide: filing status, children, child care costs, AGI, the lower earner's pay, your tax rates and your plan's limit → the credit rate, the credit alone, the full FSA, and the best election per paycheck
- Elections: every election from $0 to your maximum in $100 steps, with the FSA tax saved, credit rate, credit and total
- Tracker: paycheck deductions, up to 150 child care payments with a status each (not submitted, waiting, partly paid, paid), what you can be reimbursed now, and how much more care you need to use the whole election
- By month: deducted, care paid and reimbursed
- Sample: two children, $15,000 of child care, AGI $120,000, 22% bracket: the credit alone saves $2,100, the $7,500 FSA $2,598.75. In the 12% bracket the credit wins.
Checked, not just designed: all 816 formulas recalculate with zero errors, and every result was checked against an independent model of the tax code rules in 18 cases.
Works in Excel and Google Sheets. Not tax advice.
Try the free version first
The free online calculator uses the same model for a quick answer. The spreadsheet adds tracking, history and the full views.