Current Kansas status
Kansas does not currently offer a state Tri-Share match. Employers may review the current Kansas Child Day Care Assistance Credit and the enacted SB 82 expansion effective January 1, 2027, while families may apply for Kansas Child Care Assistance; eligibility, provider, tax, refund, and funding rules apply, and federal Section 45F is conditional rather than automatic.
Verified programs and resources
Kansas Child Day Care Assistance Credit
current KDOR guidance supports a 30% credit (up to $30,000) for paying for or locating care; 50% in the initial year and 30% later for an employee-use facility (up to $45,000/$30,000); and 50% for payments to an organization providing access to care (up to $45,000), subject to taxpayer, licensed-provider, and statutory requirements.
Kansas Child Care Assistance Program
DCF confirms partial payment of regular child-care and enrollment fees, DCF-enrolled provider requirement, family plan and copay, Kansas residency, generally child under 13, income/documentation and qualifying-family/activity rules;
Kansas Office of Early Childhood
KOEC confirms it was created through HB 2045, became responsible for the early-childhood system July 1, 2026, and houses licensing, subsidies, home visitation, and the Children's Cabinet.
Current K-56 Child Day Care Assistance Credit is verified by KDOR, but its detailed current guidance should be read together with enacted SB 82 and updated 2027 forms.
Current K-56 Child Day Care Assistance Credit is verified by KDOR, but its detailed current guidance should be read together with enacted SB 82 and updated 2027 forms.
Federal Section 45F
For qualifying 2026 expenditures, the IRS describes a 40% credit for qualified child-care expenditures, or 50% for an eligible small business, plus 10% for qualified resource-and-referral expenditures. Statutory caps, facility, licensing, employee-access, nondiscrimination, tax-liability and no-double-benefit rules apply.
Frequently asked questions
Kansas does not currently offer a state Tri-Share match.
Section 45F is not automatic. The IRS says a taxpayer may be eligible only when it pays or incurs qualified child-care or resource-and-referral expenditures and meets the applicable facility, contract, licensing, employee-access, nondiscrimination, and other statutory requirements. Use Form 8882 to claim the credit and consult a tax professional for the employer’s actual arrangement.
State family-assistance and employer-incentive programs have their own enrollment, funding, provider, income, activity, tax, and documentation rules. Check the official agency links on this page before relying on a benefit or availability.
Official sources
Last Updated: September 27, 2026