Childcare benefits explained for parents of preschool and primary school children

All families, regardless of income, are entitled to 15 hours’ free childcare from the term after the child turns three.
 
You can usually claim 30 hours’ free childcare if:

Free childcare hours are paid directly to your childcare setting at a rate of £6.85 per hour. The setting is not allowed to charge you more than £6.85 per hour, even if its private rate per hour is more than this. They can, however, charge you for extras like meals, and for additional hours beyond your 15 or 30 hours’ entitlement.

If your child is the right age to qualify for 15 hours’ free childcare, you can search for free early education in your area. The setting will be able to tell you how to arrange childcare; in the case of places like school nurseries, they are usually paid directly.
 
If you qualify for 30 hours’ free childcare, you’ll need to apply online.
 
You’ll then be sent a code to give to your childcare setting to claim the additional hours.

Free childcare can only be used to pay for childcare from approved settings, as explained above.

You may qualify for Tax-Free Childcare if you (and your partner, if you have one) are in work, including on maternity, paternity, shared parental or sick leave.
 
You (and your partner) need to earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for an average 16 hours per week for the next three months.
 
If you or your partner have an ‘adjusted net income’ of over £100,000 per year, you will not be eligible.
 
You can claim Tax-Free Childcare if you also qualify for 30 hours’ free childcare.
 
You can’t claim Tax-Free Childcare if you already claim Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit.

You can use the government’s Childcare Calculator to see if you’d be better off claiming Tax-Free Childcare.

Depending on how much you pay into your childcare account, you could claim up to £500 every three months (£2,000 per year). This doubles if your child is disabled.

You’ll need to set up an online childcare account, and then apply for Tax-Free Childcare through your account. It takes about 20 minutes to apply.
 
You need to reconfirm your details every three months.

Tax-Free Childcare can only be used to pay for approved childcare. For every £8 you pay into your childcare account, the government will automatically add £2. You then pay your childcare provider from this account.