The Childcare Cost Calculator Pack — Seven linked calculators, every formula checked by recalculation

Seven calculators for the childcare decision: daycare, a nanny, a nanny share or one parent at home, and what the second income really adds once childcare is paid. Start with sheet 2 -- in the worked example a $55,000 salary leaves $17,792. Every cost is an example figure for you to overwrite with your own quotes. These are estimates: nothing here files anything, tax rates are the ones you enter, and your own situation -- state tax, credits, deductions -- changes the numbers. Every formula was recalculated and checked against an independent implementation before this shipped.

What is in it

7 calculators, one per sheet. Overwrite the blue cells with your own numbers and everything else follows — nothing is locked, there are no macros, and it opens in Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice and Google Sheets.

• Daycare, nanny, share, home — What does each childcare option cost a year?
• Is it worth working — What does the second income leave after childcare?
• Second earner hourly wage — What does an hour of the second job really pay?
• Dependent Care FSA — How much does paying childcare through a DCFSA save?
• More than one child — What does care cost for several children with a discount?
• Cost until school age — What will childcare cost in total before school starts?
• Nanny payroll cost — What does a nanny cost an employer, beyond the wage?

Every formula was checked

This pack contains 39 formulas. Before it was published, every one of them was recalculated by a spreadsheet engine and compared against an independent implementation of the same arithmetic written in Python. All 39 agreed to within a cent, and the workbook carries a Verification sheet saying so.

That is an unusual thing to be able to claim about a spreadsheet, and it is the main reason to buy this one rather than download a free template. A formula that looks right and is wrong is worse than no formula at all, because you will act on it.

What each calculator assumes

There is a sheet listing this, because a calculator that hides its assumptions is just a number generator:

• All four are annual cash costs. Staying home also costs retirement savings, Social Security credits and career growth, which are not counted. Nanny-share splits are whatever the families agree.
• Your tax rates are the ones you enter; the break-even salary assumes it is under the Social Security wage base. Childcare is charged in full against the second income, which is a convention, not a rule.
• Only commuting is added to working time. Drop-off and pickup time, if it would not happen otherwise, can be added to the commuting hours.
• Expenses paid through the FSA cannot also be claimed for the Child and Dependent Care Credit; compare the two for your household. Unused FSA money can be forfeited under plan rules. This estimates; it files nothing.
• Same weekly rate for every child. Infant and toddler rooms often price differently; run this sheet once per rate if so.
• Whole years of care at one rate that rises once a year. Kindergarten, before- and after-school care and summer camps are not included.
• Employer FICA per IRS Publication 926 (2026). Federal unemployment tax and state requirements are left to the 'other costs' input. Not tax advice; Pub 926 and your state agency are the authorities.

What this is not

Not financial, tax or legal advice, and not a recommendation to buy, sell, borrow or sign anything. These are calculators: they show what a choice costs, not which choice is right for you. Where a published rate or threshold is used it is the one current when the pack was built — those change, the arithmetic does not.

Honest about the format

One .xlsx workbook, 7 calculator sheets plus Start Here, Assumptions and Verification. Not a PDF, not a physical product, not a Notion template. Available immediately after purchase; nothing ships.

Refunds

If this isn't what you expected, email me within 30 days and I'll refund you in full — no need to explain. Because it's an instant download I can't take the file back, so I'd rather you just had your money back.