Tax-Free Childcare

Tax-Free Childcare is a government scheme that helps working families pay for childcare. You can use it at any of our four nurseries, alongside your funded hours or on its own.

You open an online childcare account and pay into it. For every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2. The top-up is up to £500 every 3 months for each child, which is up to £2,000 a year. If your child is disabled it is up to £1,000 every 3 months, or £4,000 a year. You can use it until the September after your child turns 11, or the September after they turn 16 if they are disabled.

You (and your partner, if you have one) usually need to be working, and must each expect to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage over the next 3 months. Neither of you can have an adjusted net income over £100,000 a year. You cannot get Tax-Free Childcare if you claim Universal Credit or get childcare vouchers.

Check and apply for Tax-Free Childcare on GOV.UK

Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours use the same online childcare account, and one application checks whether you can get both. You need to sign in every 3 months to confirm your details are up to date. You can use the two together, for example Tax-Free Childcare to pay for hours your funded childcare does not cover, or for extras such as meals.