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.
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How Much Does CACFP Pay? Real Examples for 4, 6, 8 and 10 Children
Rates on a chart are hard to picture. Money per month is easy. Here are clear examples of what CACFP pays a home provider, using the real Tier I rates and a normal care month.
The rates behind these examples
These examples use the CACFP rates for day care homes for July 2025 through June 2026, at Tier I, the higher rate, for the contiguous United States. The rates are $1.70 for breakfast, $3.22 for lunch or supper, and $0.96 for a snack.
Say each child gets breakfast, lunch, and one snack each day. That is $1.70 plus $3.22 plus $0.96, which equals $5.88 per child, per day. The examples use 22 care days in a month, a normal full-time month.
Good to know: Tier II rates are lower. Your sponsor decides your tier. These examples show Tier I so you can see the most common best case.
Monthly pay for 4, 6, 8 and 10 children
The math is the same for every home size: $5.88 per child per day, times 22 days, times your number of children. Here is how it grows.
- Per child, per day (breakfast + lunch + 1 snack): $5.88
- 4 children: $517.44 per month
- 6 children: $776.16 per month
- 8 children: $1,034.88 per month
- 10 children: $1,293.60 per month
Good to know: Over a full year, the 6-child example is about $9,314. That is real money toward your grocery bills.
What makes your real check bigger
Serving more claimable meals raises your payment. A home that also serves supper to children who stay late, or a second snack where the rules allow it, claims more per day. More care days in a month also means a bigger claim.
Being paid at Tier I rates for more children helps too. In a Tier II home, children whose family income qualifies can still be claimed at Tier I rates, which your sponsor arranges privately.
What makes your real check smaller
Days a child is absent bring no claim for that child, because no meal was served to them. Meals that miss a food group in the CACFP meal pattern cannot be claimed. And part-time children who eat only one meal with you claim less than full-time children.
This is normal. Treat the examples as your full-attendance picture, and expect most real months to land a little below it.
What if you are paid at Tier II?
Tier II rates are lower: $0.61 for breakfast, $1.94 for lunch or supper, and $0.26 for a snack. The same breakfast, lunch, and one snack pattern comes to $2.81 per child, per day.
For a home with 6 children over 22 days, that is $370.92 a month. It is less than Tier I, but it is still steady help with the grocery bill for meals you already serve. And remember, in a Tier II home, meals for children whose family income qualifies can still be paid at the higher Tier I rates through your sponsor.
See your own number
Your home is not exactly like these examples. You may serve different meals, have children on mixed schedules, or be paid at Tier II. The CACFP Reimbursement Calculator lets you enter your real children, your meals, and your tier, and see your own monthly and yearly estimate in seconds.
One more thing to remember at tax time: CACFP payments count as income, and the food you serve is a tax deduction. Most providers find the program still leaves them well ahead, with a steadier monthly budget as a bonus.
Try it free: use our CACFP Reimbursement Calculator — it does this math for you in about a minute, right in your browser.
Common questions
How much does CACFP pay per child per month?
At Tier I rates, a full-time child who eats breakfast, lunch, and one snack on 22 days brings about $129.36 a month. Your number changes with your tier, meals served, and days the child attends.
Is CACFP worth it for a small home with 4 children?
For most small homes, yes. At Tier I, 4 children bring about $517 a month for meals you already serve. Joining is free, and the record keeping takes a few minutes a day.
When and how do I get paid?
You file one claim each month with your sponsoring organization, based on your daily meal counts. Your sponsor checks the claim and pays you for the meals that qualify, usually the month after you serve them.
Keep reading
CACFP Tier I vs Tier II: What Is the Difference?
CACFP Tier I vs Tier II explained in plain words: who gets which rates, the 2025-26 payment amounts, and how your sponsor decides your tier.
Read this guideHow 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 guideCACFP Meal Pattern Requirements by Age Group
CACFP meal pattern basics in plain words: the food groups every meal needs, how patterns change by age group, and where to check exact portions.
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.