You’ll need to set up a childcare account, which both you and the government will pay into. You can then use this money to pay for your after school wraparound club, after school clubs or breakfast club.

For every £8 you pay into the account, the government will top it up by £2.

The total top up you can get for each child is £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year).  This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if your child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).

 You will usually need to be working and your child must be 11 or younger.   

Hill Top is signed up to the Tax-Free Childcare scheme.

What you can use Tax-Free Childcare for

You can use it to pay for: 

• wraparound  after school care,
• breakfast clubs,
• childminders, nurseries and nannies,
• after school clubs, play schemes and holiday clubs.

You must use an ‘approved childcare’ provider to get Tax-Free childcare, so your provider must be one of the following: 

• a registered childminder, nanny, playscheme, nursery or club
• a childminder or nanny with a registered childminder agency or childcare agency
• a registered school
• a home care worker working for a registered home care agency

How it works

Once you have a childcare account, you can pay money into your account by Direct Debit, standing order or bank transfer.

Your payment will usually appear in your childcare account within one working day. The government’s payment is added at the same time. You can then pay your childcare provider.

You must sign in to your childcare account every 3 months to confirm you’re still eligible. If you do not, your Tax-Free Childcare will stop.

Example