Currently, working parents can claim up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 per year) for children aged 11 or under, via the government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme, which can help pay towards approved childcare costs.
Where a child has a disability, the cap is increased to £1,000 every 3 months (up to £4,000 per year) and can be claimed for children up to the age of 17.
As well as accredited nurseries and childminders, the Tax-Free Childcare scheme can be used to pay accredited holiday clubs and play schemes. Families can therefore continue to benefit from the Tax-Free Childcare scheme during the summer holidays.
If you qualify for Tax-Free Childcare, you can set up an online childcare account for your child. For every £8 you pay into this account, the government will pay in a further £2, which you can then use to pay your childcare provider.
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 government top-up is then applied to deposits made for each child, not per household.
You can also get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as 15 or 30 hours free childcare if you are eligible for both.