Documentation
Understand the methodology behind our childcare cost estimation, tax optimization, and Monte Carlo simulation.
Enter your family details and compare childcare costs in under 5 minutes.
How we estimate daycare, nanny, and au pair costs using market surveys and BLS wage data.
Child Care Credit, DCAP FSA, employer benefits, and state credits -- how we find the optimal combination.
10,000 scenarios varying rate increases, schedule changes, and turnover costs.
Care.com surveys, Census ACS, BLS OES, IRS Publication 503, state licensing databases.
REST API endpoints for childcare cost estimation, comparison, and tax optimization.
/v1/calculateCalculate total cost for a single childcare arrangement
/v1/compareCompare costs across multiple childcare types
/v1/rates/:zipGet local childcare market rates by ZIP code
/v1/optimizeFind optimal tax strategy for childcare expenses
/v1/simulateRun Monte Carlo simulation with custom parameters
Kelivon models the interaction between the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (IRS Form 2441) and the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCAP). These two benefits cannot both apply to the same expenses, creating an optimization problem: for some families the credit is worth more, for others the FSA saves more. Our optimizer evaluates all valid combinations and finds the split that minimizes total after-tax childcare cost.
We also model state-specific childcare tax credits (available in 26 states), employer childcare subsidies, and the impact of filing status on credit percentages. The result is a precise after-tax cost for each childcare arrangement -- not just the sticker price.
American Community Survey -- childcare expenditure by household type, income, and geography.
Bureau of Labor Statistics -- nanny and childcare worker wages by metro area.
Child and Dependent Care Credit rules, DCAP limits, and qualifying expense definitions.
State childcare licensing databases for daycare center capacity and tuition data.