Who can use a child care receipt?

Anyone who's been paid for looking after children: a baby-sitter, a nanny, a nanny share, a preschool or a home day care. Use one receipt per payment, with the dates the care covered.

What's the difference between a child care receipt and an invoice?

An invoice asks a family to pay for care. A receipt confirms money you've already received. Send the invoice first if the family hasn't paid yet, and give a receipt for each payment as it arrives.

How do I write receipts for a nanny share?

Give each family its own receipt for the amount it paid, and note how the cost was split. For example, if the week costs 1,300.00 and the families split it 60/40, one receipt shows 780.00 and the other 520.00.

Should a child care receipt include the child's details?

Include only what the family needs to match the receipt to its records, usually the child's name and the care dates. Leave off a date of birth, Social Security number or health details.

Is a nanny the family's employee?

It depends on the arrangement. IRS Publication 926 says: "The worker is your employee if you can control not only what work is done, but how it is done." That's US federal guidance, so families should read the publication or ask a tax professional about their own situation.

Child Care Receipt Template

Give families a receipt for child care they've paid for, whether you babysit, work as a nanny or in a nanny share, run a preschool, or care for children in your home

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Quick answer:A child care receipt page for baby-sitters, nannies, nanny shares, preschools and home day care: what to record (provider, payer, child, care period, charges, payment and balance), worked examples for each kind of care, receipts versus invoices, yearly totals, and IRS-quoted pointers on provider identification and household employment in the US.

Key Features

Everything you need in a professional receipt template.

Fields for the provider, the family who paid, the child and the care period

Worked examples for baby-sitters, nannies, nanny shares, preschools and home day care

The amount paid, method, reference and any balance still owed

Care dates kept separate from the date of payment

A suggested starting layout for each situation, including a printable receipt book

Pick a layout to start from

Your situation	Layout	What it records
Regular care for a week or month: home day care, preschool, a nanny or a nanny share	Child care payment receipt, on the daycare receipt template page	Provider details with a taxpayer ID field, the paying parent or guardian, the child and the care period, weekly or daily charges, the payment amount with its method and reference, the balance left, and a provider signature
One payment, such as an evening of babysitting	Simple receipt template	Who paid whom and when, the purpose of the payment, how much was paid and by what method
Writing receipts by hand on the spot	Printable receipt book template	Three receipts to a page, each with its own record stub
A family paying a tuition invoice you sent	Payment receipt template	The invoice number and amount, this payment, and what remains owed afterward

The child care payment receipt has a blank PDF version for completing with a pen, plus Word and Excel versions holding sample details that you overwrite.

What to put on a child care receipt

Provider: your trading name and location, a way for families to contact you, and your taxpayer ID number if you give one (see below).
Who paid: the parent or guardian's name and address.
Child and care period: the child's first name or the name the family uses on its records, and the dates the care covered, such as October 5 to 30, 2026.
Charges: one line per kind of care, with the hours, days or weeks and the rate.
Payment: the amount received, the date you received it, the method (cash, check, bank transfer) and a reference like a check number.
Balance: anything still owed after this payment, or 0.00.
Signature: yours, with the date.

Keep the care dates and the payment date apart: a family might pay on November 3 for care in October. Leave off details the receipt doesn't need, such as a child's date of birth, Social Security number or health information.

Examples by type of care

All names and figures below are invented.

Baby-sitter

Three Saturday evenings in October 2026, 4 hours each, at 18.00 an hour, paid in cash on October 31:

Care: 3 evenings × 4 hours = 12 hours
Charge: 12 × 18.00 = 216.00
Amount paid: 216.00 in cash; balance 0.00

For a single evening, a simple receipt is enough. For regular sitting, one receipt per month with a line per evening puts all the dates in one place.

Nanny

A week of care from November 2 to 6, 2026, 40 hours at 22.00 an hour:

Charge: 40 × 22.00 = 880.00

Before using receipts for a nanny, check whether the family is the nanny's employer; the section on nannies and household employment below quotes the IRS guidance for the US. A family that is an employer should read that guidance rather than rely on receipts alone.

Shared nanny

Two families share one nanny for 50 hours in a week at 26.00 an hour, and have decided to split the cost 60/40:

Weekly cost: 50 × 26.00 = 1,300.00
First family's share: 60% of 1,300.00 = 780.00
Second family's share: 40% of 1,300.00 = 520.00
Check: 780.00 + 520.00 = 1,300.00

Give each family its own receipt for the amount it paid, and note that family's share on the receipt so each family's records stand on their own.

Preschool

Monthly tuition for October 2026, five mornings a week, of 640.00, paid by bank transfer on October 1. A one-time charge such as a 75.00 registration fee gets a separate line, on the receipt for the month the family paid it, so the tuition months stay comparable.

In-home day care

Full-day care for four weeks at 260.00 a week, plus three late pickups at 15.00 each, with the family paying 1,000.00 so far:

Weekly care: 4 × 260.00 = 1,040.00
Late pickups: 3 × 15.00 = 45.00
Total for the period: 1,040.00 + 45.00 = 1,085.00
Amount paid: 1,000.00
Balance: 1,085.00 − 1,000.00 = 85.00

The receipt shows the 1,000.00 received and the 85.00 still owed. When the family pays the 85.00, give a second receipt for that payment.

Receipt or invoice?

You send an invoice to ask for money. A receipt is your record that the money arrived. Don't mark care as paid on a receipt before the money arrives. To bill a family for a period of care, use the child care tuition invoice, then issue receipts as payments come in.

Payment records and yearly totals

Number your receipts in order and keep a copy of each. A family that pays you every month can add its receipts up for the year. For example, eleven months at 1,040.00 and one month at 520.00 come to 11 × 1,040.00 + 520.00 = 11,960.00.

In the US, a family claiming what the IRS calls the "credit for child and dependent care expenses" has to list its care providers. IRS Publication 503 (2025; page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026; opened November 1, 2026) says: "You must identify all persons or organizations that provide care for your child or dependent." The daycare receipt template page explains the provider details involved and year-end statements. This page doesn't say whether a payment qualifies for any tax benefit; families should check the IRS publication or ask a tax professional.

Nannies and household employment

IRS Publication 926 (2026), the Household Employer's Tax Guide (page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026; opened November 1, 2026), says "Household work is work done in or around your home" and lists "Babysitters" and "Nannies" among its examples. It also says: "The worker is your employee if you can control not only what work is done, but how it is done." That publication applies to US federal tax. Whether a particular sitter or nanny is the family's employee depends on the arrangement, so families should read it or ask a tax professional before relying on receipts.

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When this isn't for you

If you run a licensed center with its own billing system, use its statements. This page doesn't decide whether a payment qualifies for a tax credit or account reimbursement, or whether a nanny is a household employee. For those questions, families can start with the IRS publications quoted above or talk to a tax professional.