Childcare for Working Parents and Tax Free childcare

What is Working Parent Funded Childcare?

Working parents that meet the eligibility criteria below are currently entitled to 15 hours of funded childcare per week (for 38 weeks of the year) from the term following their child turning 9 months old, up until the child starts school. This will increase to 30 hours per week (for 38 weeks of the year) from September 2025 for children aged 9 months to 2 years old. 

All 3 and 4 year olds in England are automatically entitled to 15 hours funding per week, the working parent funding is in addition to this.

Parents must apply for a 'working parent code' by the deadlines shown below in order for their child to start using their funded hours the following term. Parents will then need to 'reconfirm' their details every 3 months when prompted by HMRC to keep their code up to date and valid.

Application deadlines

The application deadlines for working parent funding are:

• 31st March (to start in Summer Term from April 1st)
• 31st August (to start in Autumn Term from September 1st)
• 31st December (to start in Spring term from January 1st)

To check whether you are eligible and apply, visit HMRC Childcare for working parents.

Eligibility

In order to receive working parent free childcare, you'll need meet the following criteria:

• you have a 9 month old to 4 year old child
• you and your partner (if applicable) are working 
• you and your partner (if applicable) are each earning at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage
• have an annual income of less than £100,000 each
• you're living in England

You may also be entitled to working parent funding hours if you are:

• an apprentice
• a foster parent
• on paid sick leave
• on maternity, paternity or adoption leave
• on paid shared parental leave
• are self-employed and have set up your business in the last year (even if you can't prove that you meet the 16 hour earning requirement)
• not currently working but are expecting to start work in the next 31 days

Where can I use it?

You can use the working parent funding for childcare at:

• registered nurseries, childminders, pre-schools and school nurseries
• registered after-school clubs (providing your child isn't in a reception class in a state school)

What is Tax-free childcare?

Tax-free childcare is a government scheme designed to help working parents with childcare costs. It is available to working parents of children aged 12 and under (17 and under if the child has a disability). The scheme allows eligible parents to set up an online childcare account, which you can pay in to whenever you like and can be used to pay your childcare provider directly.
 

How much is it?

For every £8 you pay into the account, the government will pay in an extra £2.

You can get up to £500 every 3 months (£2,000 a year) for each of your children, or up to £1,000 every 3 months (£4000 a year) for a child with a disability.

If your circumstances change or you no longer want to pay in the account you can withdraw the money you have built up, with the government withdrawing their corresponding contribution.
 

Eligibility and applying

The eligibility criteria is similar (but not exactly the same) as Working Parent childcare and you will be required to re-confirm your circumstances every 3 months. You check whether you would be eligible using the online calculator.

You can use your Tax-Free Account to pay your childcare provider's invoice for any childcare above and beyond your 30 hours entitlement. You can do this by logging in to your account and sending payment directly to the provider's bank account.

You can find information about childcare costs and Universal Credit on the GOV.UK website.