A Guide for Employers: Florida’s Child Care Tax Credit

Lack of affordable and accessible child care is the #1 reason parents with children under 6 leave their jobs in Florida.

Florida’s child care tax credit provides businesses with the potential for significant tax savings while supporting employees’ childcare needs. This guide explains how your business can benefit and support Florida’s economy by expanding access to quality child care:

How to Use the Florida Employer Tax Credit for Child Care

• Startup costs for childcare facilities 
  • Claim a tax credit of up to 50% of the startup costs for operating an eligible child care facility licensed by the Department of Children and Families and facilities exempt from licensure for employees.
  • The maximum credit varies by the size of the business:
    • For businesses with 1-19 employees, the maximum credit is $250,000.
    • For businesses with 20-250 employees, the maximum credit is $500,000.
    • For businesses with more than 250 employees, the maximum credit is $1 million.
• Monthly child care enrollment credit:
  • Claim a tax credit of $300 per month for each eligible employee’s child or grandchild, when the grandparent is the caregiver, enrolled in an employer-operated child care facility licensed by the Department of Children and Families or facility exempt from licensure.
  • The maximum credit amount is also based on the size of the business:
    • For businesses with 1-19 employees, the maximum credit is $50,000.
    • For businesses with 20-250 employees, the maximum credit is $500,000.
    • For businesses with more than 250 employees, the maximum credit is $1,000,000.
• Direct payments for child care:
  • Businesses making payments directly to an eligible child care facility for the benefit of an employee’s child(ren) or grandchild(ren), when the grandparent is the caregiver, can claim a tax credit of 100% of these payments, up to $3,600 per child per tax year.
  • The maximum credit amount follows the same structure:
    • For businesses with 1-19 employees, the maximum credit is $50,000.
    • For businesses with 20-250 employees, the maximum credit is $500,000.
    • For businesses with more than 250 employees, the maximum credit is $1,000,000.

For questions about this guide, how your business might offer a child care solution for employees, or learn more about the Florida Chamber Foundation’s ongoing efforts to improve early learning in Florida, contact Makayla Buchanan at mbuchanan@flchamber.com

A special thanks to the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Business Alliance for Early Learning Advisory Board for driving our mission forward. To support the Florida Chamber Foundation’s ongoing efforts to advance progress towards our Florida 2030 Blueprint goals, please contact Makayla Buchanan, Director of Early Learning and Literacy, at mbuchanan@flchamber.com

There’s more to discover from the Florida Chamber Foundation. We invite you to explore our other resources and tools below:

• Register for the 2025 Florida Learners to Earners Workforce Solution Summit to join us in building America’s best workforce in Florida REGISTER NOW>
• TheFloridaScorecard.org – view hundreds of state and county level metrics reflecting Florida’s economic progress in becoming a top 10 global economy by 2030
• View other Florida Chamber Foundation Research HERE>