All You Need To Know About Tax Free Child Care

This video will explain everything there is to know about Tax Free Childcare. There are a couple of childcare options that might be available to you and this video will explain whether you are eligible for them and how to apply.

Hello, and welcome to this video about claiming your tax-free child care support in the UK. The costs of childcare can be very high, but you may be entitled to some help from the government to help deal with it. If you are interested in claiming tax free child care support, this video will help you understand how to go about doing so.

You can get up to £2000 a year for each of your children, to help you pay for the costs of childcare. If your child is disabled, then you can get up to £4000 a year. You can use this to pay for things such as childminders, after-school clubs, nurseries and play schemes. The childcare provider that you use must be an ‘approved’ one, and you can check if a childcare provider is approved by searching the list of registered childminder agencies online.

You could also use it to pay for specialist equipment for your child, such as mobility aids. If this is applicable to you, you can talk to your childcare provider to see what you might be able to get.

It works by setting up an online childcare account for your child, and for every £8 that you pay into the account, the government will pay in £2 to pay your childcare provider.

You may also be able to get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks. You may be eligible for this if you live in England and your child is 3 to 4 years old.

The question of whether or not you are eligible for this support depends on you and your partner’s income, your child’s age and circumstances, and your immigration status.

If you are working, you will need to be earning at least the equivalent of the National Living Wage for 16 hours a week. If you have a partner, they will need to have the same income expectations. If you are self-employed, you can use an average of what you expect to make over the tax year. If you or your partner have an expected total income of more than £100,000, you will not be eligible.

In terms of the children, they must be eleven or under and usually live with you. If your children are adopted, then they are eligible, but if they are foster children, they are not.

When it comes to your immigration status, you must have a National Insurance number and either british or irish citizenship, settled or pre-settled status, or permission to access public funds.

Fortunately, you can apply for both tax free child care and the thirty free hours of childcare in just one quick application. If you are successful, you will get an account from which you can pay your childcare provider.

You will need yours and your partner’s details, as well as your National Insurance number, and a Unique Taxpayer Reference if you are self employed. Once you have completed your application, you might find out instantly whether you are eligible, or you may have to wait seven days.

Be aware that if you are already claiming working tax credit, child tax credit, universal credit, or childcare vouchers, then you will not be able to claim this tax free child care support. Your tax credits will stop automatically if your tax free childcare application is successful, and you will have to cancel your universal credit and childcare vouchers.

You should think carefully about which form of support is best for your situation before deciding to commit to one over another. We cover some of the other available allowances in the other videos in our series. Watch these to learn more about the different forms of financial support that you might be able to benefit from.