Employee Start Guide
What the benefit is, the forms you complete, and what stays on your list after you enroll.
Two questions, then your forms. Written for a reader with no tax background.
Federal IRC §45F · Georgia O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40.6 (Credit 105) · Georgia O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.28 (Credit 162)
Contents
Use the buttons below, or the left and right arrow keys, to move between slides. Path returns to the questions.
What this benefit is
- Your employer pays your child care provider directly, in your name, for the care of your child. It is on top of your pay, not instead of it. established
- You do not receive the money and you are not reimbursed. The provider bills your employer for the sponsored amount. Anything above that amount stays between you and the provider under your own arrangement. practice convention
- Your employer may claim federal and Georgia tax credits for what it pays. Those credits are the employer's. Your part is to enroll accurately and keep the employer informed. established
- The value of the care may affect your own taxes. Your Form W-2 will show what applies; your tax preparer can advise you. established
Certainty labels used in this guide: established a rule found in statute or regulation. conservative reading the safer of two available readings. practice convention customary practice, not required by law. unresolved no authority decides the point.
Does your employer already have a child care benefit?
If you are not sure, ask human resources or whoever handles benefits. Bring the request form either way.
What kind of program is your provider?
The Georgia credits depend on the provider's DECAL credential. Ask the provider for its certificate if you do not know.
Your forms and your list
Your two forms
Request to Sponsor My Child Care Provider
When: your employer has no program yet. If a program exists, Section D of the enrollment form is how you ask to add your provider.
What it asks: your name, your provider's name and address, your child's name. If the provider gave you its One Page for Employers, hand that over with the request.
What happens next: the employer decides whether to adopt a program or add your provider, then checks the provider's credential itself.
Employee Enrollment and Eligibility Form (Core 02)
When: the employer has a program. Then each year, and whenever the facts change.
What it asks: Section A, you; Section B, each child's name and date of birth and whether the child is under six; Section C, your current provider and whether it is already on the company's list; Section D, a request to add a provider if it is not; Section E, statements you initial, including that the company pays the provider directly and does not reimburse you; Section F, your joinder to the agreement if your employer uses it. One signature covers enrollment and joinder. The form does not ask for Social Security numbers, but Georgia requires your employer to keep yours and your child's in its records for its credit, so it may ask for the child's separately. established
Why the date of birth matters: the ages six and thirteen decide which Georgia credit applies to your child, and Credit 105 also needs the child to be a dependent you can claim on your Georgia return.
If your employer uses the three-party agreement
The Child Care Services Agreement (Core 03) is signed once by your employer and the provider. You become a party by signing Section F of the enrollment form, which your employer countersigns; the provider does not sign your joinder, your employer tells the provider. You sign once. What you are agreeing to:
- The provider bills your employer for the sponsored amount, and the employer pays the provider directly, in your name. established
- The payment is not a reimbursement to you. Do not pay the sponsored amount yourself and ask the employer to pay you back; that breaks the Georgia credit on the statute's own words and weakens the federal credit. established
- Your own arrangement with the provider continues for any amount above the sponsored amount. practice convention
- You will tell the employer within [10] days when your child stops attending, you change providers, or your employment status changes. You stop being a party when your child leaves, your employment ends, or on [30] days' notice from you.
A release, insurance wording, no-endorsement wording, and the joinder mechanism itself are marked in the template for the employer's counsel. Read what you sign; ask before you sign.
After you enroll, what stays on your list
Required
- Tell your employer within [10] days when your child leaves the provider or you change providers.
- Tell your employer when your child turns six (Credit 162 stops) or thirteen (Credit 105 stops), or when you stop claiming the child as a dependent. established
- Tell your employer if your hours or employment change, or if the provider's license changes.
- Re-enroll each year if the policy asks you to. practice convention
Not required by the QCC templates
- Carrying invoices, receipts, or attendance records from the provider to your employer. The provider reports to your employer directly, each period. practice convention
- Tracking your child's attendance for the employer. The provider confirms enrollment on its reporting form.
- Submitting claims or handling the money. The employer pays the provider.
Your employer's own policy (Core 01) may ask you to confirm the provider's periodic report. If it does, that will be in the policy you were given.
The ages that matter
| Credit | Child's age | Other condition |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia Credit 162 | Under six established | Your employer pays at least $1,000 a year for your child care, directly to the facility, and the facility holds a DECAL permit, license, or commission. |
| Georgia Credit 105 | Under thirteen established | You can claim the child as a dependent on your Georgia return. Payment goes directly from the employer to the provider. |
| Federal §45F | No age limit established | The facility meets state licensing law. A license-exempt program's federal status is unresolved. |
Your employer may sponsor care for an older child even when no Georgia credit applies to that child. The decision is the employer's.
Taxes on your side
- The value of employer-paid care is either included in your wages or excluded up to the annual limit if your employer provides it under a written dependent care assistance program. Your Form W-2 shows which. established
- Amounts excluded from your wages cannot also be claimed on Form 2441 for the child and dependent care credit. Amounts you paid yourself may still count. established
- If you use a dependent care flexible spending account, the annual limit is shared between it and any excluded employer payments. established
- Your employer does not give tax advice. Your tax preparer applies these rules to your facts.
If your provider holds an exemption, not a license
- Georgia's employer credits require a DECAL permit, license, or commission. An exemption is a separate status; an exempt program qualifies for neither Georgia credit. established
- The federal credit's treatment of license-exempt programs is unresolved. unresolved
- Tell your employer which credential the provider holds. The employer decides whether to sponsor the provider anyway.
- How to tell: an exempt program posts its exemption letter and a DECAL notice near the entrance. A licensed program posts its license. Ask for a copy of the certificate.
- A church program can be either: commissioned (qualifies) or exempt (does not). Two churches on the same street can differ.
Your timeline
- Once, at the start.Ask whether a program exists. Hand over the request form and the provider's one-page handout if there is no program. Complete the enrollment form when there is; its Section F joins you to the agreement if your employer uses it.Request to Sponsor · One Page for Employers · Core 02, Sections A to F
- Through the year.Report changes. Keep your own arrangement with the provider for anything above the sponsored amount. Re-enroll if asked.Core 02, updated
- At year end.Receive your Form W-2. Give your preparer the W-2 and, if you paid for other care yourself, the provider's name, address, and taxpayer number for Form 2441.Form W-2 · Form 2441 if applicable
The documents you will see
| Document | What it is | Completed by |
|---|---|---|
| Employee form | Request to Sponsor My Child Care Provider How an employee asks an employer that has no program to start one. Where a program exists, Section D of the enrollment form asks to add a provider. In the 02 Employee folder. | Employee, to the employer |
| Handout | One Page for Employers What the provider is, what credential it holds, how to reach it. Informational, not a form. PDF in the 02 Employee and 03 Provider folders. | Provider gives to parents; parents give to employers |
| Core 02 | Employee Enrollment and Eligibility Form (with joinder) Sections A to F: the employee; each child's name and date of birth and whether under six; the current provider; a request to add a provider (Section D); acknowledgements the employee initials (Section E); the joinder to the Child Care Services Agreement (Section F). One signature. | Employee; countersigned and kept by the employer |
| Core 02, Section F | Employee joinder to the Child Care Services Agreement Part of the enrollment form, not a separate document. Signing it makes the employee a party to the agreement for a named child and provider; the employer notifies the provider within [10] days and records it on Schedule B. Its form is Schedule C of the agreement. | Employee; employer countersigns |
| Core 01 | Employer Child Care Benefit Policy Establishes the benefit: structure, who may enroll, payment direct to the facility, in addition to pay. Section 6 carries an optional paragraph for a program administered by Quality Care for Children. | Employer |
| Core 03 | Child Care Services Agreement (tri-party) The only agreement in the set; it replaces the earlier long-form and short-form provider agreements. Employer pays the provider directly, in the employee's name. Schedule A rates, Schedule B roster, Schedule C form of joinder. Counsel items marked. | Employer and provider sign once; employees join by Section F of the enrollment form |
Where to go next
- The FAQ (September 2026), questions 50 to 63, answers employee questions in plain language.
- The Employee webinar deck explains the Form 2441 figures and the request process.
- Your employer's benefits contact for the policy and the forms; your tax preparer for your own return.
Prepared by MMA CPA INC., 160 Clairemont Ave. Suite 200, Decatur, GA 30030.
General information for planning. Not legal or tax advice. Eligibility and tax results depend on the facts of each employer, employee, and provider and on the law in force when a return is filed. Confirm with your own advisor.