Current Ohio status
Ohio's official Child Care Cred Program helps qualifying Ohio families and participating Ohio employers share licensed child-care costs: generally 40% employee, 40% employer, and 20% DCY for households between 200% and 400% of the federal poverty level. Eligibility, provider participation, funding availability, and application requirements apply; employers should separately confirm conditional federal Section 45F eligibility with the IRS or a tax professional.
Verified programs and resources
Ohio Child Care Cred Program (CCCP)
active July 1, 2025–June 30, 2027; Ohio-resident families, Ohio-based employers, and participating child-care programs; 200%–400% FPL; 40% employee / 40% employer / 20% DCY; joint application required.
Ohio Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC)
current DCY-administered assistance, generally for eligible caretakers and households at or below 145% FPL (150% for a verified special need), with income-based copayments.
Ohio Step Up To Quality (SUTQ)
current three-level provider quality-rating system;
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
Ohio's official Child Care Cred Program helps qualifying Ohio families and participating Ohio employers share licensed child-care costs: generally 40% employee, 40% employer, and 20% DCY for households between 200% and 400% of the federal poverty level.
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