Tax-Free Childcare
What Tax-Free Childcare is
Tax-Free Childcare can help with the cost of paying for childcare.
You’ll need to set up a childcare account, which both you and the government will pay into. You can then use this money to pay your childcare provider.
For every £8 you pay into the account, the government will top it up by £2.
The total top up you can get for each child is £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year). This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if your child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).
You’ll usually need to be working and your child must be 11 or younger (16 or younger if they’re disabled).
This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).
If you already get Tax-Free Childcare
You can sign in to your childcare account to confirm your details are up to date and pay your childcare provider.
How it works
Once you have a childcare account, you can pay money into your account by Direct Debit, standing order or bank transfer.
Your payment will usually appear in your childcare account within one working day. The government’s payment is added at the same time. You can then pay your childcare provider.
Your childcare provider must be signed up to the Tax-Free Childcare scheme before you can pay them. Check with your provider that they’re already signed up.
You must sign in to your childcare account every 3 months to confirm you’re still eligible. If you do not, your Tax-Free Childcare will stop.
Example
Your childcare bill is £250.
You pay £200 into your childcare account (80% of the bill). The government adds £50 (20% of the bill). You can then use the £250 to pay your childcare provider.
What you can use Tax-Free Childcare for
You can use it to pay for:
- childminders, nurseries and nannies
- after school clubs, play schemes and holiday clubs
You must use an ‘approved childcare’ provider to get Tax-Free childcare, so your provider must be one of the following:
- a registered childminder, nanny, playscheme, nursery or club
- a childminder or nanny with a registered childminder agency or childcare agency
- a registered school
- a home care worker working for a registered home care agency
Check if your childcare provider is registered.
If your child is disabled
You can use the extra money you get to help pay for more hours of childcare.
You can also use it to help pay your childcare provider so they can get specialist equipment for your child, such as mobility aids.
Talk to them about what equipment your child can get.
If your childcare provider is in an EEA country
You may be able to use Tax-Free Childcare to pay a provider based in a European Economic Area (EEA) country. Contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to check.