Tax-free childcare

You’ll need your details (and your partner’s, if you have one), including your:

• National Insurance number
• Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if you’re self-employed

It takes 20 minutes to apply.

You can make a payment the day after you put money in your account. It usually takes 3 working days for the money to reach your provider’s account.

As part of your application, you’ll find out if you’re eligible for both tax-free childcare and 30 hours free childcare. You may find out straight away, but it can take up to 7 days.

Apply for tax-free childcare on GOV.UK.

You can get up to £500 every three months (£2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare.

If you get tax-free childcare, the government will pay £2 for every £8 you pay your childcare provider via an online account.

You can use it to pay for approved childcare.

You can get tax-free childcare at the same time as 30 hours free childcare if you’re eligible for both.

Your child must be 11 or under and usually live with you. They stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th birthday.

Adopted children are eligible, but foster children are not.

If your child is disabled you may get up to £4,000 a year until they’re 17. They’re eligible for this if they:

• Get Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Are registered as blind or severely sight-impaired

Parents will have to be in work, earning a certain amount over the next three months. This is at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average.

For example, over the next three months you expect to earn at least £1,853.28 – the National Living Wage for people over 23.

If you have a partner, they’ll need to earn at least this much too.

If you’re self-employed and do not expect to make enough profit in the next three months, you can use an average of how much you expect to make over the current tax year.

This earnings limit does not apply if you’re self-employed and started your business less than 12 months ago.

If you or your partner have an expected ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000 in the current tax year you will not be eligible. This includes any bonuses you expect to get.

Your adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any personal allowances and minus things like Gift Aid.

If you currently receive employer-supported childcare then you can continue to do so.

You do not have to switch to tax-free childcare if you do not wish to. Employer-supported childcare will continue to run.

You will not be able to register for employer-supported childcare after tax-free childcare is introduced, but those already registered by this date will be able to continue using it for as long as their employer offers it.

Tax-free childcare will be open to more than twice as many parents as employer-supported childcare.

Employers' workplace nurseries won't be affected by the introduction of tax-free childcare.

Parents and others can pay money into their childcare account as and when they like.

This gives you the flexibility to pay in more in some months, and less at other times. This means you can build up a balance in your account to use at times when you need more childcare than usual, for example, over the summer holidays.

It's also not just the parents who can pay into the account – if grandparents, other family members or employers want to pay in, then they can.

You'll be able to withdraw money from the account if you want to.

If your circumstances change or you no longer want to pay into the account, then you’ll be able to withdraw the money you have built up. If you do, the government will withdraw its corresponding contribution.

Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and benefit from Tax-Free Childcare.

Check with your provider to see if they’re signed up.

You can't get tax-free childcare at the same time as claiming working tax credit, child tax credit, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.

Which scheme you’re better off with depends on your situation. Use the childcare calculator to work out which type of support is best for you.

Tax credits

If you successfully apply for tax-free childcare, your working tax credit or child tax credit will stop straight away. You cannot apply for them again.

Childcare vouchers

You must tell your employer within 90 days of applying for tax-free childcare to stop your childcare vouchers or directly contracted childcare. They’ll then stop giving you new vouchers or directly contracted childcare.

You will have to give HMRC evidence you‘ve left your employer’s childcare voucher scheme, for example:

• Aa copy of the letter telling your employer you’re leaving the childcare voucher scheme
• Copies of your payslips showing your pay before and after you’ve left the scheme

Universal Credit

Wait until you get a decision on your tax-free childcare application before cancelling your Universal Credit claim.

Access to the childcare service can be found at Get Tax-Free Childcare: step by step.

To get into your account, select '4. Sign in to your account to pay your childcare provider'.

There will then be a page where you can select 'Sign in'. You’ll need the Government Gateway user ID and password you used when you applied for Tax-Free Childcare.

You can then click on '30 hours free childcare' to see your 30 hours eligibility code. These normally start with '500'.

You will also find this code in your 'secure messages'.

You may have a temporary code, starting '11'. You will have been given this over the phone and will receive a letter containing this from HMRC too.

If you’ve been unable to access tax-free childcare through your childcare account for technical reasons, you may be able to claim compensation through the Childcare Service.