Tax-free childcare is a 20% childcare top-up which provides eligible working families with up to £500 every three months (or £1,000 if their child is disabled) towards the cost of holiday clubs, before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, and other accredited childcare schemes. It can also apply to nurseries.
It is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. For every £8 deposited into a special account, families will receive an additional £2 from the government. The account is then used to pay the provider.
Childcare providers can also sign up for a childcare provider account via gov.uk to receive payments from parents and carers via the scheme.
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.
