HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working parents in the UK to not miss out on the opportunity to get up to £2,000 a year to pay for regulated childcare, including holiday clubs and other out-of-school activities, during the Easter holidays.
Tax-Free Childcare provides thousands of 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 approved childcare schemes.
For every £8 deposited into a Tax-Free Childcare online account, families will receive an additional £2 in government top-up, and it is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability.
About 328,000 working families used Tax-Free Childcare across the UK in December 2021, receiving a share of £34 million in government top-up payments towards their childcare costs.
With recent research estimating that around 1.3 million families could be taking up this government support, parents and carers can check their eligibility and register for Tax-Free Childcare at gov.uk/tax-free-childcare
By depositing money into their accounts, families can benefit from the 20% top-up and use the money to pay for childcare costs when they need it. Accounts can be opened at any time of the year and can be used straight away.
For example, if parents and carers have school-aged children and use holiday clubs during school holidays, they could deposit money into their accounts throughout the year. This means they could spread the cost of childcare while also benefitting from the 20% government top-up. Any unused money that is deposited can be simply withdrawn at any time.
Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders, or other childcare providers. Families with younger children will often have higher childcare costs than families with older children, so the tax-free savings can really make a difference.
Childcare providers can also sign up for a childcare provider account via GOV.UK to receive payments from parents and carers via the scheme by visiting gov.uk/guidance/sign-up-to-tax-free-childcare-if-youre-a-childcare-provider