Nexura Employer Childcare ROI Calculator — The Nexura Library

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Library tool · Stage 04 · Calculate

Employer Childcare ROI Calculator

Model a childcare investment against turnover, absenteeism, and the 2026 Section 45F credit — with every assumption in the open.

Educational estimate 2026 IRS §45F rules All assumptions editable

Your inputs

Enter your annual figures, then request a personalized PDF with your results and assumptions.

1Workforce

Total employees

Employees with young children

Employees who could plausibly use the program.

Average annual salary

Annual turnover rate

Share of employees who leave in a year.

2Financial impact

Estimated financial impact per departure

% of salary

Recruiting, onboarding, training, lost productivity.

Childcare-related absence days per parent-employee

days / yr

Estimated value per lost workday

Leave 0 to use salary ÷ workdays per year (see assumptions).

3Your investment

Total annual childcare investment

Everything you expect to spend in the year: facility, operator contract, subsidies, referral services.

Qualified childcare expenditures

Portion eligible for the 40% / 50% credit: facility spending or contracts with a qualified facility or intermediary.

Qualified resource & referral expenditures

Portion eligible for the 10% credit.

Eligible small business?

For tax years beginning in 2026: average annual gross receipts over the preceding five years of $32 million or less (IRC §448(c) test, as applied by §45F).

Assumptions used in the math +

Turnover reduction among parent-employees

Relative reduction. The 15% Library default is a conservative planning assumption; published employer outcomes vary by design and workforce.

Reduction in childcare-related absences

Nexura default assumption. Programs address only part of care disruptions.

Workdays per year

Used only when the estimated value per lost workday is left at 0.

Locked to current law (not editable):

Credit rate, qualified childcare expenditures: 40% (50% eligible small business)

Credit rate, resource & referral: 10%

Annual credit cap: $500,000 ($600,000 eligible small business)

Applies to amounts paid or incurred after Dec. 31, 2025; caps inflation-adjusted after 2026

Source: IRS — Employer-provided child care credit: Tax year 2026 and later. The credit is a nonrefundable general business credit claimed on Form 8882 and can only offset tax you owe. Review tax liability, carryforwards, basis reduction, and recapture with your tax adviser.

Your Nexura ROI report

Your personalized report

A branded PDF with your results, inputs, assumptions, and methodology.

Full analysis

Get your personalized ROI report.

We will generate a Nexura-branded PDF from the numbers you enter and email it as an attachment. You can also download and print the same report here.

We use these details to prepare and deliver your requested report. Requesting a report does not subscribe you to marketing emails.

Next step

Schedule Your ROI Diagnostic

Review your result with Nexura, clarify the workforce question behind the numbers, and determine whether there is enough substance to scope the next phase.

Schedule Your ROI Diagnostic

30 minutes

Educational estimate only. Not tax, legal, or financial advice. Results depend entirely on the figures and assumptions you enter. Whether specific expenditures qualify under Section 45F, how the credit interacts with your tax position, and any state credits are questions for your tax adviser. Current IRS guidance: irs.gov — Employer-provided child care credit (tax year 2026 and later).

How the math works

Every line, shown.

The calculator uses six formulas. Nothing is hidden and nothing is weighted.

Turnover savings = employees with young children × turnover rate × turnover reduction × (average salary × replacement impact %)

Absenteeism savings = employees with young children × absence days × absence reduction × estimated value per lost workday
If the estimated value per lost workday is 0, the tool uses average salary ÷ workdays per year.

45F credit = lesser of [ (40% or 50%) × qualified childcare expenditures + 10% × qualified resource & referral expenditures ] and the annual cap ($500,000 or $600,000)

Net investment = gross investment − 45F credit

ROI % = (total workforce savings − net investment) ÷ net investment

Payback (months) = net investment ÷ (total workforce savings ÷ 12)

Where the defaults come from

Replacement impact, 33% of salary — Work Institute's conservative method for estimating the financial impact of turnover (2024 Retention Report). Many roles carry a higher financial impact; adjust to your own data.
Five childcare-related absence days per year — in line with published estimates of working days parents miss to childcare disruptions (Child Care Aware of America; Washington state disruption study). Your HR records are better than any national figure.
15% turnover reduction — a Nexura planning default. Published employer examples vary widely by design and workforce: Vermeer reported 14% lower turnover among center users; Kaniksu reported organization-wide turnover falling from 38% to 19%; and former Tyson workforce strategy leader Garrett Dolan reported roughly 30–40% better retention among parents using the Tyson Learning Center than plant team members not using childcare (source interview).
50% reduction in childcare-related absences — a Nexura default assumption, not a sourced figure. Programs typically address some, not all, care disruptions.
Section 45F figures — IRS, tax year 2026 and later; statutory text at 26 U.S.C. §45F.

Additional considerations

Your actual tax liability. The 45F credit is nonrefundable and only offsets tax owed; unused credit follows general business credit carryback and carryforward rules.
Basis reduction and the rule against double benefits: expenditures used for the credit cannot also be deducted or used for another credit.
Recapture if a qualified facility stops operating or changes hands within ten years.
State employer-childcare credits, which exist in a number of states and can stack with 45F.
Recruiting advantages, employee tuition revenue, community slots, productivity, and the value of shifts covered — real in the Field Studies, but not modeled here.