Help with childcare costs

Use the childcare calculator at GOV.UKOpens in a new window to find out how much help you might get towards childcare costs.

Tax-Free Childcare is a government scheme to help working parents with the cost of childcare in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It can pay for:

• registered childminders, nurseries and nannies
• registered breakfast, after-school clubs and playschemes, holiday schemes
• registered schools (not including school fees, unless your child is below the compulsory school age)
• homecare workers working for a registered homecare agency.

You can use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as using 15 hours or 30 hours of free childcare.

But you can’t use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as:

• Universal Credit
• tax credits
• childcare vouchers.

If you already get help with childcare costs from Universal Credit or tax credits, opening a Tax-Free Childcare account will stop all your benefits payments, not only those for childcare. 

If you’re not sure whether using Tax-Free Childcare or your benefits would be better for you, speak to an independent adviser on benefits at Advice LocalOpens in a new window

To qualify, typically, one or both parents need to:

• be employed and have children under the age of 12 (or under 17 if your child has a disability). But they are no longer eligible from 1 September after the child's 11th birthday. Adopted children are eligible, but foster children are not.
• earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living WageOpens in a new window for an average of 16 hours per week
• have no more than £100,000 adjusted net income per year, per parent. You can learn more about adjusted net income at GOV.UKOpens in a new window
• be employed or self-employed. But if you or your partner are on maternity, paternity, or adoption leave, you may still qualify. You can also apply if you are starting or restarting work within the next 31 days.

If you have caring responsibilities, are ill, or disabled and unable to work, you can still qualify for a childcare account if one parent is working and the other is unable to work and receives any of the following benefits:

• Carer’s Allowance
• Incapacity Benefit or long-term Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance
• National insurance credits because of incapacity or limited capability for work.

You can put money into a childcare account, and for every £8 that you pay in, the government will contribute £2. There is a limit on how much the government can give, with a maximum of £2,000 per year for each child (or £4,000 for disabled children). 

For example, if you pay in £8,000 for one child, the government will put in £2,000, and the money is usually processed the next working day.

If you pay by debit card, it takes one working day to process the payment, while bank transfers take up to three working days. The government contribution is limited to £500 every three months, or £1,000 for a disabled child. You must pay into the account every quarter of the year to get the full contribution.

Other people, such as grandparents or family friends, can also contribute to the childcare account. 

You apply online by setting up a childcare account at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

Every three months, you will need to check and confirm you still qualify - use your online childcare account for this. You’ll receive a reminder to do this. 

If your circumstances haven’t changed, just simply confirm this. If your situation has changed, the government will recheck if you’re still eligible. 

You might be entitled to some free childcare. It’s important to check if you qualify for the free childcare available, so you don’t miss out. 

How much you can get depends on which country you live in. You can use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as using 15 or 30 hours free childcare.

You can use these free hours at registered childcare providers such as:

• nurseries and nursery classes
• playgroups and pre-schools
• registered childminders
• Sure Start Children’s Centres in EnglandOpens in a new window
• Flying Start in WalesOpens in a new window
• Sure Start in NIOpens in a new window
• holiday schemes, breakfast and after school clubs.

Find the right childcare option for you with our guide Childcare options

You might be able to get:

• 15 hours of free childcare for your child between nine months and two years old, and

• up to 30 hours for children aged three to four years old.

From September 2025, working parents of children between nine months and four years old will be entitled to 30 hours free childcare.

This scheme is usually available for working parents and carers. For couples, both parents must be working, or if you’re a sole parent you need to be working to claim the free hours.

 Eligibility is typically based on:

• the age of your child

• your working status or income.

If you, or your partner, are on maternity, paternity or adoption leave, or one of you is unable to work because you’re disabled or are a carer, you could still be eligible for free childcare hours.

You can check if you're eligible for free childcare at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

You can apply online by setting up a childcare account at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

Some councils list providers who offer the additional hours on their website, or you can contact your childcare provider to see if they offer them. You can find Ofsted registered childcare providers at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

You can apply using your local Family Information Service. Find out more at FamilyPointOpens in a new window

Some councils list approved childcare providers – check whether providers are approved at Care Inspectorate WalesOpens in a new window

Some two and three-year-olds who live in a Flying Start area can get free part-time childcare for two-and-a-half hours a day, five days a week for 39 weeks. Find your local Flying Start service at FamilyPointOpens in a new window

Three and four-year-olds can get 10 hours of free early education a week for 48 weeks a year, in a school or funded nursery. This is known as the Foundation Phase.

Some three and four-year-olds are entitled to an extra 20 hours, bringing their total to 30 hours for 48 weeks of the year.

To qualify for the extra 20 hours of free childcare:

• both parents must be working – or the sole parent must be working in a single parent family. And must permanently live in Wales
• Over the next three months you and your partner (if you have one) must each expect to earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average. Find out more at GOV.UKOpens in a new window
• each parent must earn less than £100,000 a year.

If you don’t use all your hours in one week, you can’t use them in another week. Many providers average out the hours over the year, so you’d have the equivalent of 22 hours a week. Ask your provider how they do this.

You can apply and find out more about free childcare and education in Scotland at mygov.scotOpens in a new window

Some two-year-olds can get 16 hours of childcare a week during term time if they receive certain benefits.

All three and four-year-olds qualify for 16 hours a week of free early learning and childcare during term time.

Children are entitled to at least 12.5 hours of free preschool education a week for 38 weeks in the year before they start Primary One.

From 1 September 2024, if you’re receiving Tax-Free Childcare for children not yet in primary school, you might be eligible to get an extra 15% for childcare if you register by 20 August 2024. 

The scheme is funded until the end of March 2025, Find out more about the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy SchemeOpens in a new window

Universal Credit is a benefit for people in, and out of, work. It replaces six existing benefits, including Working Tax Credit.

Working families who qualify for Universal Credit can claim back up to 85% of their monthly childcare costs.

You must pay for the childcare upfront first and provide receipts to get money back. You can only claim for childcare that has taken place during your assessment period. If you cannot pay that upfront cost, you might be able to get help with that through the Flexible SupportOpens in a new window

If you've got a job offer, you can ask for help with childcare costs for the month before you actually start working. Speak to your work coach right away about your job offer and what support you can get. 

You can also get help with childcare costs for at least a month after your job ends to keep your childcare going while you switch between jobs. Find out more at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

Usually you and/or your partner will need to:

• be working (it doesn’t matter how many hours you or your partner work), or
• have a job offer.

You can get £1014.63 a month for one child, and £1739.37 a month for two or more children.

You can only claim if your childcare is provided by a government registered or approved childcare provider, for more details, visit GOV.UKOpens in a new window

Childcare costs are paid in arrears. This means you’ll usually pay the costs yourself, report the costs through your online account and be paid back on your next Universal Credit payment.

You have until the end of the second assessment period after the childcare took place to report these costs.

For example, if your assessment date (the date you started claiming and get your Universal Credit payment) is the 10^th and you want to claim back childcare costs you paid in September, you have until 10 November to report the costs.

You can only claim back childcare costs that have taken place during that assessment period. So if you pay childcare costs more than a month in advance, for example a whole term, you’ll send in your report in the same way and be paid back in instalments over a maximum of three assessment periods.

If you think you’ll struggle to pay childcare costs up front, talk to your work coach.

If you live in Northern Ireland and you’re eligible for the childcare element of Universal Credit and other income-based benefits, you can apply for a non-repayable grant of up to £1,500 from the Adviser Discretion Fund (ADF) through a Work Coach at your local Jobs and Benefits centre. 

This will be paid in advance to a registered childcare provider. Any amount awarded for childcare costs will be included within the maximum £1,500 limit payable for ADF awards in a 12-month period. 

Working Tax Credit is one of the benefits being replaced by Universal Credit.

If you’re already getting Working Tax Credit, you can continue to claim it until your circumstances change, or you’re asked to apply for Universal Credit.

You can’t make a new claim for Working Tax Credit.

You can do a quick check to see if it’s worth moving to or claiming Universal Credit using our Benefits Calculator.  But if you’re already getting benefits (particularly tax credits) you should speak to a benefits expert who will be able to help you work out what’s best for you before you make a claim because you can’t go back to your old benefits once you’ve made a claim for Universal Credit.   

Advice LocalOpens in a new window is a good place to start to find a benefits expert in your area.

The ‘childcare element’ is one of the elements, or components, that make up Working Tax Credit.

If you qualify, it could cover up to 70% of your childcare costs.

You can apply for the childcare element of Working Tax Credit if you:

• Work at least 16 hours a week (if you’re a couple, you both need to work at least 16 hours a week).
• Pay for registered or approved childcare. Find out more about childcare costs at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

With the childcare element, you can get help with up to 70% of your childcare costs.

The table below shows how much you could get in the 2024/25 tax year

If you pay more than this for childcare, you’ll still only get the maximum amounts listed above.

If you qualify for the childcare element, you won’t necessarily get the full amounts.

How much you get will depend on:

• your income
• the hours you work
• your childcare costs.

Some companies have their own nursery, either at your workplace or at another location.

Your employer decides how much you pay to use the workplace nursery.

But whether it’s free or discounted, it is considered as a tax-free benefit of your job.

Ask your employer if they provide a workplace nursery.

Are you a grandparent or other relative taking care of children while their parents are at work? You can get National Insurance credits to help you continue building towards your State Pension during this time. 

You’ll need 35 qualifying years to receive the full State Pension.

Check your National Insurance record at GOV.UKOpens in a new window

These National Insurance credits are called Specified Adult Childcare credits and you have to apply for them.