The Louisiana School Readiness Credit is a Louisiana tax credit for certain taxpayers who paid child care expenses for a qualifying child who attended a highly rated Louisiana child care facility. The credit is connected to Louisiana’s Quality Start Child Care Rating System, and the amount of the credit depends on the child care facility’s star rating. This credit is separate from Louisiana’s regular child care credit. If you qualify, you may be able to claim both the regular Louisiana child care credit and the Louisiana School Readiness Credit.
Who may qualify?
You may qualify for the Louisiana School Readiness Credit if all of the following apply:
- You had a qualified dependent under age 6 during the tax year.
- The child attended a Louisiana child care facility that participates in the Quality Start rating program.
- The facility earned at least a 2-star rating
- You qualify for the regular Louisiana child care expense credit. If your child attended more than one qualifying child care facility during the year, the credit is calculated using the facility with the highest Quality Start rating.
How much is the credit?
The School Readiness Credit is calculated as a percentage of your regular Louisiana child care credit. The percentage is based on the child care facility’s Quality Start rating.
| Facility Star Rating | School Readiness Credit Amount |
| 5 stars | 200% of the Louisiana child care credit |
| 4 stars | 150% of the Louisiana child care credit |
| 3 stars | 100% of the Louisiana child care credit |
| 2 stars | 50% of the Louisiana child care credit |
| 1 star or not participating | 0% (no credit) |
You may claim the School Readiness Credit in addition to the regular Louisiana child care credit, if you otherwise qualify.
Is the credit refundable?
It depends on your federal adjusted gross income (federal AGI).
If your federal AGI is $25,000 or less:
The credit is generally refundable, which means it may increase your refund even if it is more than the Louisiana tax you owe.
For 2025 Louisiana resident returns, the refundable child care credit is reported on Line 14, and the related refundable School Readiness amount is entered from the 2025 Louisiana Refundable Child Care Credit Worksheet.
If your federal AGI is more than $25,000
The credit is generally non-refundable, which means it can reduce your Louisiana tax, but it will not create a refund by itself.
Any unused non-refundable School Readiness Credit may be carried forward for up to five years. For tax year 2025, unused School Readiness Credit carryforwards from 2020 through 2024 may be claimed on Schedule J, Line 5.
What form or document do I need?
To claim the School Readiness Credit, you should receive Form R-10614, Louisiana School Readiness Tax Credit Child Care Expense Credit Certificate, from your child care provider.
This certificate includes information such as the child care facility’s name, license number, Louisiana Revenue Account Number, Quality Start rating, and rating award date.
Keep this form with your tax records. You may need it to support the credit if the Louisiana Department of Revenue requests documentation.
Program Entry
To claim the Louisiana School Readiness Credit, navigate to:
- Select State from the sidebar menu.
- Press the 3 dots and select Edit.
- Select Credits.
- School Readiness Credit.
You will first need to enter your Child and Dependent Care Credit information onto the federal return section (Federal>Deductions, Select my Forms>Credits>Child and Dependent Care Credit). The program will use the facility rating to calculate the School Readiness Credit percentage and determine whether the credit is refundable or nonrefundable based on your federal AGI.
Within the state section, you will enter the number of dependents under 6 for the appropriate Star Rate category, if applicable. If you have a prior-year School Readiness Credit carryforward, enter the carryforward amount when prompted. For 2025, qualifying carryforwards may come from tax years 2020 through 2024.
Important note for child care providers, directors and staff:
You may claim the Louisiana School Readiness Child Care Provider Credit on your individual Louisiana return only if you own the qualifying child care facility as a sole proprietor or receive the credit from a pass-through entity such as an LLC, partnership, or S corporation. Corporations and certain nonprofit organizations generally claim this credit on the Louisiana corporation income and franchise tax return instead.
Louisiana also has a separate School Readiness credit for eligible child care directors and staff. This is not the same as the parent child care expense credit. Eligible directors and staff claim this refundable credit on Schedule F, using Code 66F, and must enter the facility license number from Form R-10615 on Line 5A. A copy of Form R-10615 must be attached, or processing may be delayed.
To enter the refundable credit for providers, directors and staff, use this menu path once inside the Louisiana state return: Credits>Refundable Credits>Other Refundable Credits>Refundable Priority 2 Credits, and select the type of credit, in addition to the credit amount.