Tax Free Childcare for working families

Working parents with children under 12 (or under 17 if the child has a disability) can open an online account to pay for childcare.

You can use your tax free childcare account to pay for registered childcare. 

You, and any partner, must each expect to earn (on average) the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Minimum or Living Wage per week and no more than £100,000 per annum.

If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or you're unable to work because you have a disability or have caring responsibilities, you could still be eligible. 

To find out if you are eligible, please visit the Childcare Choices website (linked at the bottom of the page), where you will need to set up a childcare account via the Government Gateway.

You can apply if you are starting or re-starting work within the next 31 days.

Once your eligibility has been confirmed, you must reconfirm your details every 3 months.

For every £8 you pay into the scheme the government will add £2, up to a total of £500 per quarter (£2000 per year) or £1000 per quarter (£4000 per year) for those with a disability.

If eligible, you can receive Tax Free Childcare for your child until the 1st September after their 11th birthday or until the 1st September after their 16th birthday if they have a disability.

Once your eligibility has been confirmed, you will be able to log into your childcare account to set up your childcare payments. You will need to ensure your childcare provider is signed up to receive Tax Free Childcare. 

Once you have received your invoice, you will need to pay your money into your childcare account, you will then see the governments top up added within a few hours or the next day if added out of hours. 

After all monies have been added, you will then be able to pay your childcare provider via your childcare account.