SG Parent Guide

Childcare Subsidy Calculator (Singapore)

Updated 25 Oct 2026 · SG Parent Guide Editorial Team
Short answer

This calculator estimates your monthly ECDA subsidy for full-day childcare or infant care from your working status and household income. It adds the flat Basic Subsidy to the income-tested Additional Subsidy, using the official rates in force in 2026 for Singapore Citizen children.

On this page (4 sections)

Choose the programme, your working status and your household income to estimate the monthly subsidy ECDA pays to your centre.

Tool

Childcare & infant care subsidy estimator

Programme
Main applicant (mother or single father)

Total gross income of everyone in the household, per month.

Estimated monthly subsidy S$640
  • Basic SubsidyS$300
  • Additional SubsidyS$340

Estimate only, before the minimum co-payment — confirm your figures at ECDA.

Based on ECDA. As of October 2026.

How it is calculated

Every Singapore Citizen child in an ECDA-licensed full-day centre gets two possible layers (ECDA):

  • Basic Subsidy — a flat monthly amount. For a working main applicant it is S$300 (childcare) or S$600 (infant care); for a non-working applicant it is S$150 either way.
  • Additional Subsidy — income-tested, for a working mother (or single father) working at least 56 hours a month, with gross monthly household income of S$12,000 or below. The lower the income, the larger it is: up to S$467 for childcare and up to S$710 for infant care, stepping down through seven income bands to zero above S$12,000.

The calculator adds the two layers. A minimum co-payment then applies for your income tier, so the amount actually credited is trimmed slightly and your fee never falls to zero.

A worked example (illustrative)

ECDA’s own example: a working mother with a child in full-day childcare and gross monthly household income of S$3,000 or below:

  • Basic Subsidy: S$300
  • Additional Subsidy: S$467
  • Total subsidy: S$767 a month (before the minimum co-payment; with the S$3 minimum co-payment for that tier, the credited amount is a few dollars lower).

This example is illustrative.

Limits of this estimate

  • It shows the subsidy, not your net fee. Net fee depends on your centre’s actual fee and the minimum co-payment for your tier.
  • It covers full-day infant care and childcare only; half-day and flexi-care rates differ.
  • It assumes a Singapore Citizen child in an ECDA-licensed centre; PR and foreigner children are not eligible.
  • Larger households may qualify on per capita income, and non-working parents may apply for Special Approval. For your verified figure, use ECDA.

General information, not financial advice. Your exact subsidy depends on a verified income check by ECDA.

Sources

  1. Overview of the infant and childcare subsidy scheme — Early Childhood Development Agency (as of October 2026)
  2. Subsidies for Preschool — Made For Families (Government of Singapore) (as of October 2026)