Childcare in France: Crèches, Childminders and Tax Credits

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to France with children and need to understand how childcare works. After reading it, you will know the main types of care by age, where to look for a place, which aid parents can claim and how the childcare tax credit is calculated and paid.

• Childcare options by age
• Finding a place and local help
• The CMG and other financial aid
• The tax credit for care outside the home
• Claiming the credit and when it is paid
• FAQ

Childcare options by age

France organises childcare around the child’s age, and the official overview on Service Public groups the options into age bands. Before 3, families can use a micro-crèche (a nursery taking up to 12 children aged 0 to 6) or a crèche familiale (a service employing approved childminders who look after 1 to 4 children, generally under 4, in their own homes). Parents can also employ an assistante maternelle (approved childminder) or a garde à domicile (carer working in the family home) themselves. A third route is home help through the services à la personne (personal services) sector.

Between 3 and 6, the choice widens. A halte-garderie (drop-in nursery) offers qualified staff for a few hours or half a day a week. A jardin d’enfants (day kindergarten) takes children for the whole day. Its qualified staff include éducateurs de jeunes enfants (early years educators) and auxiliaires de puériculture (childcare assistants). A centre de loisirs (leisure centre) covers time after school and days without school. Its supervisors may be paid or volunteers and must be at least 17. From 6, the centre de loisirs remains available, alongside the colonie de vacances (holiday camp), which looks after children day and night during the school holidays.

Live-in help is another route. A salarié au pair (au pair employee) may be French or foreign and does not have to be a student. They are paid in kind with housing and food. A jeune au pair (au pair trainee) is a foreign student whom the family houses, feeds and pays pocket money. Families recruit them through an approved placement agency. The pages do not cover residence rules for a foreign au pair; those questions go to the prefecture or a migration advice service.

Finding a place and local help

Service Public links to an online tool for searching childcare by locality. It also links to the information site of the Cnaf (national family allowance fund), which covers childcare options and available places. Other search tools list personal services organisations and approved au pair agencies. The pages do not give waiting lists, registration deadlines or admission criteria for nurseries. Each nursery or mairie (town hall) explains how it allocates its own places.

A child with a disability can be cared for in ordinary or specialised structures. Some families still cannot afford care after the existing aid. Service Public directs them to the social action service of their mairie or to the nearest Point info familles (family information point). In Paris, the contact is the Centre d’action sociale de la ville de Paris (CASVP).

The CMG and other financial aid

The main benefit is the complément de libre choix du mode de garde (CMG, childcare choice supplement), paid by the Caf (family allowance office). Before 6, families can receive it if they use a micro-crèche or crèche familiale, or if they employ an assistante maternelle or garde à domicile themselves. Between 6 and 12, it is open only to a parent isolé (single parent) who employs an assistante maternelle or garde à domicile. The official definition is a person who does not live as a couple and is solely responsible for at least one child. The pages do not give CMG amounts or income conditions, so the Caf decides. Service Public offers a simulator for the CMG paid when a family uses a nursery service.

A single parent who is unemployed can get the aide à la garde d’enfant (childcare aid). Employees may get help from their employer, notably Cesu préfinancés (prepaid service vouchers). The pages give no amounts for either.

The tax credit for care outside the home

Parents who pay for care outside the home can claim a crédit d’impôt (tax credit), explained on the Service Public tax credit page. The child must be a dependant and under 6 on 1 January of the tax year. For 2025 income, declared in 2026, that means born on or after 1 January 2019. For 2026 income, declared in 2027, the date is 1 January 2020. Grandparents can also claim for a grandchild if their adult child belongs to their foyer fiscal (tax household).

The care must come from an approved assistante maternelle or a setting for children under 6, such as a crèche, halte-garderie, garderie scolaire (school day care) or centre de loisirs. A separate credit applies to care in the home.

Only childcare costs that were actually paid count, and food is excluded. Any aid received for childcare is deducted first, including the CMG and help from an employer or works council. The credit is 50% of what remains. It applies to up to 3,500 € of expenses per child, so the credit is at most 1,750 €. For a child in shared custody, the limits are 1,750 € of expenses and 875 € of credit. Parents who employ an assistante maternelle declare the net annual salary plus the social contributions they paid. In the page’s example, a family pays 4,500 € in salary and contributions and receives 3,500 € of CMG. It declares the 1,000 € difference and gets a credit of 500 €.

Claiming the credit and when it is paid

The amounts go on the annual income tax return. If the credit is larger than the tax due, the difference is refunded. Receipts are not attached to the return, but the tax office can ask for them, and an invoice paid in cash is not accepted. Parents who employ an approved childminder can download their attestation fiscale Pajemploi (annual tax certificate from the Urssaf Pajemploi service). It is in their online account under “Éditer mes attestations fiscales”.

An advance of 60% is paid in January, based on the previous year’s credit. The balance follows in the summer, based on actual spending. If the advance was too high, the excess is repaid in September. In the first year of claiming, the whole credit is paid in the summer, so credit for 2025 spending arrives in summer 2026. An immediate advance of the credit is planned for 1 September 2027 at the latest. The Service d’information des impôts (tax information service) answers general questions on 0809 401 401. It is open Monday to Friday, 8.30 to 19.00, except public holidays. The service is free, but the call is charged.

FAQ

Can parents receive both the CMG and the tax credit?

Yes, the official guidance covers both, but the CMG is deducted from childcare expenses before the 50% credit is calculated. Employer aid is deducted in the same way.

Which children count for the credit on 2026 income?

For 2026 income, declared in 2027, the child must be a dependant born on or after 1 January 2020. In other words, the child must be under 6 on 1 January of the tax year.

When is the credit paid in the first year?

In the first year of claiming, the whole credit is paid in the summer after the year of spending, with no January advance. From the following year, part of the credit can be paid in advance.

Where can families turn if childcare remains unaffordable?

Service Public directs them to the social action service of their mairie or to the nearest Point info familles. In Paris, the contact is the CASVP.

Sources: service-public.fr · service-public.fr

Last verified: 27 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the prefecture of your département, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (avocat).