Current New Jersey status
New Jersey families can check the official Child Care Assistance Program for limited, eligibility-based help, while employers should consult a tax professional about conditional federal Section 45F eligibility; a statewide Tri-Share pilot is only proposed in S4256 and should not be described as active unless enacted and implemented.
Verified programs and resources
New Jersey Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
official DFD says it helps lower-income families who are working, in training, or in school pay part of child-care costs;
NJEDA Child Care Facilities Improvement Program Phase I
official page says applications are closed; $50,000–$200,000 provider facility-improvement grants were available, and as of December 2025 NJEDA had awarded $125 million to 607 licensed centers.
Federal IRC Section 45F for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025
IRS confirms 40% of qualified child-care expenditures (50% for an eligible small business) plus 10% of qualified resource/referral expenditures, capped at $500,000 or $600,000 for eligible small businesses (inflation adjustments apply after 2026).
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
New Jersey families can check the official Child Care Assistance Program for limited, eligibility-based help, while employers should consult a tax professional about conditional federal Section 45F eligibility;
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