Employer-paid care or locating services
For amounts spent in Kansas to purchase child care for your employees’ dependents, or to help employees locate care.
This pilot uses the current Kansas statute and Kansas Department of Revenue guidance for 2026. It separately flags the SB 82 changes that apply on and after January 1, 2027.
See your 2026 credits — and preview Kansas in 2027
Start with plain-English choices about your business and child care plan. The estimator calculates federal and Kansas figures separately. You can also turn on a 2027 Kansas preview to see how the rules change; that preview is not a federal 2027 forecast or a filing result.
Kansas 2026 Federal + State Child Care Credit Estimator
Use projected or actual amounts for your tax year beginning in 2026. Do not combine spending from different tax years.
Kansas 2026 credit routes
The state calculation depends on the statutory route, not on a marketing label. A licensed Kansas child care facility or provider is required. The current law makes excess 2026 credit refundable, subject to the statutory conditions and the $3 million aggregate annual cap.
Initial-year employer facility
For the first year of establishing and operating a Kansas child care facility used primarily by your employees’ dependents.
Subsequent-year employer facility
For operating costs after the initial year, based on total operating expenditures less amounts received for facility use.
Joint initial-year facility or access organization
The statute provides 50% routes for an initially jointly established facility and for payments to an organization providing access to available child care services.
Statewide cap and pass-through treatment
Aggregate credits claimed under the act are capped at $3 million for a fiscal year. The statute also addresses claims by S-corporation shareholders and partners in the manner they account for their shares of entity income or loss. Review the current statute and tax return instructions for an entity-specific filing position.
Federal and Kansas amounts must be evaluated independently
A combined estimate does not guarantee that a specific cost qualifies for both the federal and Kansas credits. It also does not guarantee that you can use both full amounts in the same tax year. The estimator therefore shows the calculations together for planning, not as savings, net cost, or a guaranteed stack.
| Question | Federal Section 45F review | Kansas 2026 review |
|---|---|---|
| Which expenditure category? | Determine whether the amount is a qualified child care expenditure or resource-and-referral expenditure under the federal framework. | Determine which K.S.A. § 79-32,190 route applies, if any, including first-year versus subsequent-facility treatment. |
| What eligibility evidence matters? | Facility / provider qualification, contracts, employee access, nondiscrimination, fair-market-value, and related federal requirements. | Kansas licensing, in-state expenditure facts, statutory route, facility-use conditions, entity treatment, and the statewide cap. |
| What tax factors remain outside this tool? | Tax liability, general-business-credit limits, deductions, basis reduction, recapture, and final eligibility. | State tax return mechanics, aggregate-cap availability, tax liability, refund processing, and final eligibility. |
Build the documentation file before calculating a claim
Keep state and federal evidence organized separately even when the same program is being evaluated. The right file depends on the route selected and the taxpayer’s facts.
Kansas eligibility file
Maintain in-state expenditure records, provider or facility licensing evidence, the selected statutory route, entity records, and facility-use facts where relevant.
Read K.S.A. § 79-32,190Kansas tax-return file
Use the Department of Revenue’s current credit information and the applicable tax return schedule. Do not rely on a prior-year form when filing.
Kansas Department of RevenueFederal Section 45F file
Maintain facility, contract, employee-access, nondiscrimination, fair-market-value, and expenditure classification records for the federal credit review.
Open Form 8882 guideKansas employer coverage: This guide is relevant to employers across Wichita and Sedgwick County; Johnson County, including Overland Park and Olathe; Wyandotte County and Kansas City; Shawnee County and Topeka; and Douglas County and Lawrence. Local provider availability and state-program facts should be checked for the specific arrangement.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Kansas Child Day Care Assistance Credit refundable for 2026?
Under the current 2026 statute, credit that exceeds the taxpayer’s state tax liability is refunded. The 2027 SB 82 framework changes the credit to nonrefundable with a three-year carryforward, so a 2027 calculation should not use this 2026 treatment.
Why are there both 30% and 50% Kansas rates?
The rate depends on how you support child care.
- 30% rate, up to $30,000: paying for employee care, paying for a search service, or operating an employee facility after its first year.
- 50% rate, up to $45,000: the first year of an employer or jointly established facility, or a payment to an eligible organization that provides employee access to available child care.
What does the Kansas calculator do with a subsequent-year facility?
If you select this option, the calculator reveals a field for money received for use of the facility. It subtracts those receipts from your operating spending, then applies the 30% rate and $30,000 cap to the remaining amount.
Can I treat the calculator’s combined figure as a guaranteed tax result?
No. It is a simple arithmetic sum of separate published federal and Kansas calculations. It does not establish eligibility, tax-liability use, state-cap availability, whether the same amount is permissible in both calculations, or final return treatment.
Can I see the 2027 Kansas SB 82 rules in the estimator?
Yes. Check the optional 2027 preview box inside the estimator and choose the plain-English description that best matches your plan. The tool will show the enacted Kansas-only future-law calculation separately from the 2026 results.
Need the broader federal framework?
Review the federal 2026 eligibility and compliance guide before you rely on a Kansas route or begin a tax-return analysis.
Review federal eligibility and compliance