Childcare subsidies in Singapore have two parts: a flat Basic Subsidy everyone with a Singapore Citizen child gets, and a means-tested Additional Subsidy that scales with your household income. For full-day childcare in 2026 the Basic Subsidy is $300 a month for a working mother, and the Additional Subsidy adds up to $467 on top for the lowest income tier. For infant care the Basic Subsidy is $600 with up to $710 more. The number that actually matters is not the subsidy headline but your net co-payment after both are applied, and that is what this guide works out tier by tier, using the rates that took effect on 1 January 2026.
Every Singapore Citizen child enrolled at an ECDA-licensed centre qualifies for the Basic Subsidy. It is a fixed dollar amount that does not look at your income at all. For full-day childcare in 2026 that is $300 a month if the mother (or single father) is working, and $150 if she is not. For full-day infant care the working rate is $600 and the non-working rate is $150.
On top of the Basic Subsidy sits the Additional Subsidy, which is means-tested. To get any of it the main applicant has to be working at least 56 hours a month, and the household has to earn $12,000 or less in gross monthly income, or have a per capita income of $3,000 or below for households of five or more members sharing an address. The lower your income tier, the larger the Additional Subsidy.
The two are designed to dovetail. Lower-income families lean heavily on the Additional Subsidy; higher earners above the ceiling still keep the full Basic Subsidy. The key design rule is the minimum co-payment: every tier has a floor you always pay out of pocket, and the Additional Subsidy is trimmed so it never drops you below that floor. That floor is why a family in the lowest childcare tier still pays $3 a month rather than nothing.
Because infant care needs roughly one trained staff member per five babies against one per twelve for older children, both its fee and its subsidy run higher. When your child turns 18 months and moves to the childcare programme, the gross fee and the Basic Subsidy both step down. We cover that infant-to-childcare transition and its budgeting in our infant care Singapore guide.
These are the rates that took effect on 1 January 2026 for full-day childcare, covering children from 18 months to below 7 years. The Basic Subsidy of $300 is already folded into the maximum subsidy logic; the column that matters for budgeting is the minimum co-payment, which is what you pay before your centre's fee cap is applied. The co-payment floor differs slightly between Anchor Operator and Partner Operator centres because their fee caps differ.
Read the table by finding your gross monthly household income band. If your household has five or more members, use the per capita income column instead, since that usually lands you in a more generous tier.
| Gross monthly household income | Per capita income | Basic Subsidy | Max Additional Subsidy | Min co-payment (AOP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 and below | $750 and below | $300 | $467 | $3 |
| $3,001 to $4,500 | $751 to $1,125 | $300 | $440 | $25 |
| $4,501 to $6,000 | $1,126 to $1,500 | $300 | $340 | $58 |
| $6,001 to $7,500 | $1,501 to $1,875 | $300 | $260 | $104 |
| $7,501 to $9,000 | $1,876 to $2,250 | $300 | $190 | $172 |
| $9,001 to $10,500 | $2,251 to $2,625 | $300 | $130 | $232 |
| $10,501 to $12,000 | $2,626 to $3,000 | $300 | $80 | $315 |
| Above $12,000 | Above $3,000 | $300 | None | Fee minus $300 |
Infant care covers babies aged 2 to 18 months. ECDA notes that infant care subsidy rates have not changed since 1 January 2023, so the 2026 figures are the same numbers you would have seen the year before. The Basic Subsidy is $600 for a working applicant, and the Additional Subsidy tops out at $710, but the minimum co-payment floor is far higher than for childcare because the underlying fee is roughly double.
Notice how steeply the co-payment climbs. A family earning $4,501 to $6,000 pays a $250 minimum on infant care versus $58 on childcare. The same income, double the bill, which is exactly why the infant care window is the most expensive 16 months of early-years care.
| Gross monthly household income | Per capita income | Basic Subsidy | Max Additional Subsidy | Min co-payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 and below | $750 and below | $600 | $710 | $40 |
| $3,001 to $4,500 | $751 to $1,125 | $600 | $640 | $110 |
| $4,501 to $6,000 | $1,126 to $1,500 | $600 | $500 | $250 |
| $6,001 to $7,500 | $1,501 to $1,875 | $600 | $380 | $360 |
| $7,501 to $9,000 | $1,876 to $2,250 | $600 | $240 | $500 |
| $9,001 to $10,500 | $2,251 to $2,625 | $600 | $100 | $640 |
| $10,501 to $12,000 | $2,626 to $3,000 | $600 | $40 | $700 |
| Above $12,000 | Above $3,000 | $600 | None | Fee minus $600 |
Subsidies subtract from a gross fee, so the gross fee is half the equation. ECDA caps fees at two tiers of subsidised centres. Anchor Operator (AOP) centres keep full-day childcare to $610 a month before GST. Partner Operator (POP) centres cap full-day childcare at $650 and full-day infant care at $1,290 before GST. Centres outside both schemes set their own fees, so private and international centres routinely charge $1,800 to $2,500 with no cap at all.
The subsidy dollar amount is identical wherever you enrol, which means the same $300 Basic Subsidy shaves a much bigger percentage off a $610 AOP bill than a $2,400 private one. Two families on the same income can pay wildly different net fees purely from this choice. If you are weighing a capped centre against an uncapped private one, our government vs private childcare comparison breaks down what the extra money actually buys.
In October 2024, ECDA appointed 324 more childcare centres as Partner Operators, expanding the number of capped-fee places. Anchor Operators include the large not-for-profit chains such as My First Skool and PCF Sparkletots. Before you fall in love with a centre, check on the ECDA preschool search whether it is an AOP, a POP, or neither, because that single label sets your starting fee.
Numbers in a table only become real once you net them against a fee. Here is what three households on different incomes pay for a full-day place at a capped centre in 2026, before GST.
A family earning $5,500 a month picks an AOP childcare centre at the $610 cap. They get the $300 Basic Subsidy and a $340 Additional Subsidy, total $640. Because that would push them below the tier floor, the Additional Subsidy is trimmed so their co-payment lands at the $58 minimum. Net fee: about $58 a month.
A family earning $9,500 at the same AOP childcare centre gets $300 plus $130, total $430, against the $610 cap, leaving roughly $180. A family earning above $12,000 gets only the $300 Basic Subsidy, so the same $610 place costs about $310 a month. For infant care, raise every one of those figures sharply: a $9,500 household at a POP infant care centre ($1,290 cap) gets $600 plus $100, total $700, leaving about $590 net per month.
| Household income | Programme & centre | Subsidy applied | Approx. net you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,500 | Childcare, AOP ($610 cap) | $300 + $340 (trimmed) | ~$58 |
| $9,500 | Childcare, AOP ($610 cap) | $300 + $130 | ~$180 |
| Above $12,000 | Childcare, AOP ($610 cap) | $300 only | ~$310 |
| $9,500 | Infant care, POP ($1,290 cap) | $600 + $100 | ~$590 |
The Basic Subsidy has almost no conditions: a Singapore Citizen child enrolled at an ECDA-licensed centre, attending at least one day in the month. The Additional Subsidy is the one with hurdles. The main applicant has to be working at least 56 hours a month at the point of application, and the household income has to be within the ceiling. Self-employed parents count; the 56 hours is the gate, not employee status.
Non-working mothers are not shut out of help entirely. They still receive a $150 Basic Subsidy for both infant care and childcare, but no Additional Subsidy. Families where the mother cannot work for valid reasons such as caregiving, medical conditions, or actively seeking employment can apply for special approval to be assessed as if working.
Some families qualify automatically. Households on ComCare assistance or living in HDB rental flats are typically given the maximum subsidy without a separate income assessment. Income is verified from CPF contributions and supporting documents, so declare it accurately rather than guessing.
You do not apply directly to ECDA. The preschool handles the subsidy application at the point of enrolment, and digital submission runs through LifeSG. Have your income documents, the child's birth certificate, and your employment details ready. The subsidy is paid to the centre and netted off your invoice, so you only ever pay the co-payment.
The Infant and Childcare Subsidy covers childcare and infant care centres. Kindergartens that run shorter half-day programmes use a different scheme, the Kindergarten Fee Assistance Scheme (KiFAS), which applies at MOE Kindergartens and Anchor Operator kindergartens. KiFAS uses the same $12,000 income ceiling; a family earning $3,000 or below at an AOP kindergarten gets a maximum KiFAS subsidy of $163 with a $1 minimum co-payment.
The big forward-looking change comes from Budget 2026. From January 2027 the income ceiling for these subsidies rises from $12,000 to $15,000 gross monthly household income, and the per capita income threshold from $3,000 to $3,400, which ECDA expects to bring more than 60,000 additional families into the means-tested help. The tier amounts for the new bands above $12,000 have not been published yet, so if you sit just above the current ceiling in 2026, it is worth re-checking your eligibility in 2027.
Childcare is one cost in a stack that includes the Baby Bonus cash gift and the Child Development Account. To see how the government cash and matched savings fit alongside fees, read our Baby Bonus and CDA payout guide, and use the personal budget calculator to slot the net childcare figure into your monthly cash flow.
For full-day childcare a working mother gets a $300 Basic Subsidy plus an Additional Subsidy of up to $467 for the lowest income tier, scaling down as income rises. Infant care gets a $600 Basic Subsidy and up to $710 more.
In 2026 the gross monthly household income ceiling is $12,000, or a per capita income of $3,000 for households of five or more members. From January 2027 these rise to $15,000 and $3,400 respectively under Budget 2026.
Yes, but only the Basic Subsidy of $150 a month for both infant care and childcare. The Additional Subsidy requires the main applicant to work at least 56 hours a month, so non-working applicants do not receive it unless granted special approval.
Anchor Operator centres cap full-day childcare at $610 a month before GST. Partner Operator centres cap full-day childcare at $650 and full-day infant care at $1,290. Subsidies are the same at both, so your net fee depends heavily on which type you choose.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.