25 Feb £2,000 Towards Childcare Costs for Parents
The government has announced a ‘top-up’ worth up to £2,000 towards childcare costs for parents, by signing up to Tax-Free Childcare.
‘Thousands of working families in the UK could be missing out on an opportunity to get up to £2,000 a year to help with the cost of childcare, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding parents, ahead of February half term.’
– Gov.uk Press Release
Tax-Free Childcare
Tax-Free Childcare – the 20% childcare top-up – provides eligible working families with up to £500 every 3 months (or £1,000 if their child is disabled) towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other accredited childcare schemes.
The scheme is available for children up to 11 (17 if the child has a disability). This means for every £8 the family deposits into an account they will receive an extra £2 from the government.
‘The 20% government top-up offers working families help to pay for childcare, whether it’s nursery bills, after school clubs or holiday clubs. Search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK to find out more.’
– Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services
Scheme Examples
When parents (or carers) have school-aged children and use holiday clubs during school holidays they can then deposit money into their accounts any time during the year.
The benefit is spreading the cost of childcare while benefiting from the 20% government top-up scheme.
‘Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders, or other childcare providers.’
HMRC Guidance
Each eligible child requires their own Tax-Free Childcare account. If families have more than one eligible child, they will need to register an account for each child. The 20% government top-up is then applied to deposits made for each child, not household.
Account holders must confirm their details are up to date every 3 months to continue receiving the government top-up.
Scheme Eligibility
Depends on:
- if you are working
- your income (and your partner’s income, if you have one)
- your child’s age and circumstances
- your immigration status
Further Reading
The full Government Guidelines can be found here: and includes all that is necessary to be eligible for the scheme.
Guidance for childcare providers:
Please let us know if we can help,