Tax Free Childcare

Use this Tax-Free Childcare eligibility calculator to check whether you qualify based on your income and circumstances. If you do, you almost certainly also qualify for 15 or 30 funded hours depending on your child's age — and used together, the two schemes can save families thousands of pounds a year.

Tax-Free Childcare is available for children up to age 11 (or 16 for disabled children) and can be used for nurseries, childminders, after-school clubs, holiday clubs and even registered nannies — making it one of the most flexible childcare support schemes available. It can't be combined with Universal Credit childcare support or Tax Credits, so if you're claiming either of those it's worth checking which works out better for your family. If you're self-employed, the eligibility rules are more flexible than many parents realise — our self-employed childcare guide explains how the minimum income threshold works for variable incomes.

If your income is close to £100,000, eligibility depends on your adjusted net income rather than your gross salary — pension contributions can make a significant difference to where you land. Once you've confirmed eligibility and set up your account, use our Tax-Free Childcare top-up calculator to work out exactly how much to pay in each quarter.