Daycare vs. Stay-at-Home Breakeven Calculator — Rex's Toolbox

Rex says

Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.

Try a scenario

Click to load — tweak from there.

Inputs

Gross monthly salary($)

Effective tax + payroll rate(%)

Daycare/nanny cost per month($)

Commuting cost per month($)

Work clothes, meals, misc per month($)

Value of unpaid work replaced($)

Result

True monthly gain from working

$392

Net take-home pay

$3,192

Total work-related costs

$1,900

Gain before replacement value

$1,292

Gross salary needed to break even

$3,684

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How to use this

1Enter gross monthly salary ($).
2Enter effective tax + payroll rate (%).
3Enter daycare/nanny cost per month ($).
4Enter commuting cost per month ($).
5Enter work clothes, meals, misc per month ($).
6Enter value of unpaid work replaced ($).
7Read your true monthly gain from working on the right — it updates as you type.
8Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

The 'is it worth going back to work' question usually gets answered with gut feel instead of math. This calculator nets a parent's salary against daycare tuition, commuting costs, work wardrobe and meals, and the payroll taxes that come off the top, then compares that number to the income lost by staying home. It also accounts for the fact that a stay-home parent still produces unpaid value — childcare, cooking, errands — which has a real replacement cost even though no check gets written for it. The output is the true monthly gain or loss from working, not just the paycheck number, so you can decide with real figures instead of anxiety.

FormulaNet work value = salary − taxes − daycare − commute − work costs; breakeven salary = (daycare + commute + work costs + replacement value) ÷ (1 − effective tax rate).

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

Gross monthly salary: 4200 $
Effective tax + payroll rate: 24 %
Daycare/nanny cost per month: 1500 $
Commuting cost per month: 220 $
Work clothes, meals, misc per month: 180 $
Value of unpaid work replaced: 900 $

Results

True monthly gain from working: $392
Net take-home pay: $3,192
Total work-related costs: $1,900
Gain before replacement value: $1,292
Gross salary needed to break even: $3,684

What each field means

Inputs

Gross monthly salary ($): The gross monthly salary used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 4200 $ so you have a working example on load.
Effective tax + payroll rate (%): The effective tax + payroll rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 24 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–55 %.
Daycare/nanny cost per month ($): The daycare/nanny cost per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1500 $ so you have a working example on load.
Commuting cost per month ($): The commuting cost per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 220 $ so you have a working example on load.
Work clothes, meals, misc per month ($): The work clothes, meals, misc per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 180 $ so you have a working example on load.
Value of unpaid work replaced ($): The value of unpaid work replaced used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 900 $ so you have a working example on load.

Results

True monthly gain from working: Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Net take-home pay: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Total work-related costs: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Gain before replacement value: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Gross salary needed to break even: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.

FAQ

What counts as 'replacement value' of a stay-home parent?

It's what you'd pay someone else to do the childcare, cooking, cleaning, and errand-running a stay-home parent handles. A reasonable estimate is 25-35 hours a week at local babysitter or house-manager rates, often $700-1,200/month depending on your area. Skipping this number is the most common mistake in this comparison — it makes working look better than it actually is.

Should I include career growth in this math?

Not directly in the breakeven number, but weigh it separately. A few years out of the workforce can mean lower lifetime earnings, lost retirement contributions, and a harder re-entry. If your true monthly gain is close to zero, career trajectory and retirement match money often tip the decision toward continuing to work.

Does this apply to part-time work too?

Yes — plug in the part-time gross salary and prorate daycare to the days actually used. Part-time often wins this calculation because daycare cost drops faster than pay does, especially with per-day tuition structures.

What if we have two kids in daycare?

Add both tuitions into the daycare field. Many centers offer a 10-15% sibling discount, so use the discounted combined total, not two full prices.

Accuracy and limitations

Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.

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Cite this calculator

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APA

RevenueLab. (2026). Daycare vs. Stay-at-Home Breakeven Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/daycare-vs-stayhome-breakeven

HTML

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/daycare-vs-stayhome-breakeven" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daycare vs. Stay-at-Home Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>

Markdown

Source: [Daycare vs. Stay-at-Home Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/daycare-vs-stayhome-breakeven) (2026).