Build Back Better Child Care Copayment Calculator
Estimate how much your family would pay out of pocket for child care under the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376). The Act caps child care costs on a sliding scale from 0% to 7% of annual family income, depending on your income as a share of your state's median income. Enter your state, annual household income, and family size to see your estimated annual copayment, monthly equivalent, what percentage of income that represents, the year you would first become eligible, and how much you would save versus the national average child care cost.
What is the Build Back Better child care plan?
The Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2021, included the most significant federal investment in child care in American history. The child care provisions would have created a new federal-state partnership to subsidize child care costs for families earning up to 250% of their State Median Income (SMI). Unlike previous programs that used the federal poverty level, the BBB framework tied eligibility to the SMI, a higher and more regionally appropriate income benchmark. Families would pay nothing if their income fell below 75% of SMI, and those between 75% and 250% SMI would pay a sliding-scale copayment capped at 7% of their annual income. The Act was not enacted into law after the Senate did not take it up in its House-passed form.
How the sliding-scale copayment is calculated
The copayment rate slides linearly across four income bands. Families below 75% of their state's median income pay nothing. From 75% to 100% SMI, the rate slides from 0% to 2% of income. From 100% to 125% SMI it slides from 2% to 4%, and from 125% to 150% SMI it slides from 4% to 7%. All families between 150% and 250% SMI pay the flat cap of 7% of income. For example, a family of four in Texas with an annual income of $75,000 would be at roughly 88% of the Texas 4-person SMI of approximately $85,700. That places them in the first sliding tier, and they would pay roughly 1% of income (about $750 per year) for child care, compared with a national average of $15,000 for center-based infant care.
Phase-in schedule and eligibility timeline
Congress designed the subsidy to phase in over four fiscal years to manage federal costs and allow states to build capacity. In FY 2022 (Year 1), only families at or below 100% SMI would be covered. FY 2023 extended coverage to 125% SMI, FY 2024 to 150% SMI, and FY 2025 and beyond to the full 250% SMI ceiling. Federal funding for the child care program was budgeted at $24 billion in Year 1, rising to $42 billion by Year 3, with a 90% federal and 10% state cost share once fully phased in. States were required to raise provider payment rates to meet the actual cost of care.
Current child care costs and what these savings mean
According to the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and the U.S. Department of Labor, full-time, center-based infant care costs an average of $14,000 to $18,000 per year nationally, and exceeds $20,000 per year in high-cost states like California, Massachusetts, and New York. For the median American family, child care can represent 10% to 20% of household income. The BBB 7% cap would therefore represent a significant reduction for most eligible families. The calculator uses the current child care cost field to quantify annual savings: if your current annual cost is $15,000 and your copayment cap would be $2,100, your estimated annual savings are $12,900.
BBB child care copayment schedule
| Income tier (% of SMI) | Copayment rate | First eligible year | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 75% | 0% | FY 2022 | Fully subsidized - no out-of-pocket cost |
| 75% to 100% | 0% to 2% | FY 2022 | Sliding scale, linear interpolation |
| 100% to 125% | 2% to 4% | FY 2023 | Sliding scale, linear interpolation |
| 125% to 150% | 4% to 7% | FY 2024 | Sliding scale, linear interpolation |
| 150% to 250% | 7% (flat cap) | FY 2025 | Capped at 7% of annual family income |
| Above 250% | Not eligible | N/A | Family is above the income ceiling |
Sliding-scale copayment rates by income as a share of State Median Income (SMI). Rates apply once your income tier is phased in.
Frequently asked questions
Was the Build Back Better Act signed into law?
No. The House passed H.R. 5376 in November 2021 but the Senate did not pass the bill in its original form. Many of the social spending provisions, including the child care copayment framework modeled in this calculator, were not enacted. Some climate and tax provisions from a scaled-down version were eventually passed as the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. This calculator models the House-passed version of the child care provisions for informational and educational purposes.
What is State Median Income and why does it matter?
State Median Income (SMI) is the midpoint of all household incomes in a state for a given family size, estimated annually by HHS using Census Bureau data. The BBB child care bill used SMI rather than the federal poverty level because SMI better reflects regional cost differences. A family earning $80,000 in Mississippi is in a very different financial position from a family earning $80,000 in Massachusetts, and the SMI benchmark captures that difference.
How is the copayment different from current child care assistance?
Current federal child care assistance flows mainly through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which covers only about 15% of eligible families due to funding limits and has no income cap tied to SMI. The BBB framework would have been an entitlement, meaning every eligible family had a legal right to assistance. It would also have required providers to be paid at market rates, addressing the supply shortage that limits CCDF.
Does family size affect my eligibility or copayment?
Yes, in an important way. The SMI threshold is adjusted for family size: a 4-person family has a higher SMI ceiling than a 2-person family, and a 6-person family has a higher one still. This means a family of 6 earning $100,000 will be at a lower percentage of SMI than a family of 2 earning the same amount, potentially qualifying for a lower copayment rate or broader eligibility.
What current programs offer child care assistance while BBB is not law?
Families can explore the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) through their state child care agency, Head Start and Early Head Start for eligible 0-5-year-olds, the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (federal), state-level child care tax credits (available in about 30 states), and subsidized pre-K programs in many states. Eligibility, benefit amounts, and waiting lists vary widely by state.