IRS Standard Meal Allowance Rates for Daycare Providers (2025)
The IRS standard meal allowance rates for 2025: $1.66 breakfast, $3.15 lunch and supper, $0.93 per snack. How they work and when to use them.
Read this guideCACFP Tier I vs Tier II: What Is the Difference?
Every home provider on the food program is paid at one of two levels: Tier I or Tier II. The level you are in changes what you earn for the same meals. Here is the difference, in plain words.
What CACFP tiers are
CACFP is the Child and Adult Care Food Program, a federal program run by the USDA, the United States Department of Agriculture. It pays licensed home providers back for part of the cost of meals and snacks served to children in care.
To keep the help aimed where it is needed most, the program pays two rates. Tier I is the higher rate. Tier II is the lower rate. The meals and the rules are the same. Only the payment amount, and who qualifies for which level, are different.
The current rates for each tier
These are the rates for day care homes for July 2025 through June 2026, for the contiguous United States. Alaska and Hawaii rates are higher.
- Tier I: breakfast $1.70, lunch or supper $3.22, snack $0.96
- Tier II: breakfast $0.61, lunch or supper $1.94, snack $0.26
Good to know: The gap is real. For breakfast, lunch, and a snack, a Tier I child earns $5.88 a day. A Tier II child earns $2.81 a day for the same food.
Who gets Tier I?
A home is Tier I if it sits in a low-income area, based on local school data or census data about the neighborhood. A home can also be Tier I if the provider's own household income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, a number the government updates each year.
If your home is Tier II by area, you can still be paid at Tier I rates for meals served to children whose own family income qualifies. Your sponsor checks this in a private way, and families do not have to share their income details with you.
- Tier I: home is in a qualifying low-income area
- Tier I: provider household income is at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines
- Tier I rates for some children: the child's family income qualifies, even in a Tier II home
Who decides your tier?
You do not decide, and you do not apply to the government yourself. You join CACFP through a sponsoring organization, a local group approved to run the program. Your sponsor checks the area data and, if you ask, your household income, and tells you your tier.
Your tier can change if area data changes or your household income changes. If you think your tier may be wrong, ask your sponsor to check again. It costs nothing to ask, and the difference over a year can be thousands of dollars. Use the CACFP Reimbursement Calculator to see what each tier would pay a home your size.
Is Tier II still worth it?
Yes. Tier II payments are lower, but they are still steady monthly money for food you are already serving. Many Tier II providers also find the program's meal planning help and sponsor visits useful on their own.
Remember, too, that food costs are a tax deduction whether or not you are on the program. CACFP payments are income, and your food deduction stands beside them. For most homes, Tier I or Tier II, joining still comes out ahead.
Try it free: use our CACFP Reimbursement Calculator — it does this math for you in about a minute, right in your browser.
Common questions
Can a Tier II home become Tier I later?
Yes. Area data is updated over time, and your household income may change. Ask your sponsor to recheck your tier if your situation changes or new area data comes out.
Do Tier I and Tier II homes follow different meal rules?
No. The meal patterns, record keeping, and claim rules are the same for both tiers. Only the payment rates differ.
Will parents know which tier I am in?
No. Your tier is between you and your sponsor. If a child's family income is checked for Tier I rates, the sponsor handles that privately with the family.
Keep reading
How to Join CACFP: A Step-by-Step Guide for Home Providers
How to join CACFP as a home daycare provider: find a sponsor, sign up, learn the meal rules, and file your first claim, step by step in plain words.
Read this guideHow Much Does CACFP Pay? Real Examples for 4, 6, 8 and 10 Children
How much does CACFP pay a home daycare? Worked monthly examples at Tier I rates for 4, 6, 8 and 10 children, plus what changes your real payment.
Read this guideDisclaimer: HomeDaycareTools.com provides free calculators and general information for planning purposes only. Nothing on this site is tax, legal or financial advice. Tax rules, CACFP rates and licensing rules change — confirm your figures with IRS Publication 587, your CACFP sponsoring organization, your state licensing agency, or a qualified tax professional before filing or signing anything.