Department for Education (DfE)
Responsible for schools, childcare, apprenticeships and higher education policy in England. School places are handled by your local council.
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Help with childcare costs
Tax-Free Childcare and free childcare hours for eligible families. Check what you can get before booking a nursery.
Official links
| Official source | Applies to |
|---|---|
| GOV.UK: Tax-Free Childcare www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare | Whole UK |
| Best Start in Life: childcare support (England) beststartinlife.gov.uk/ | England |
Who handles it
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)
Collects taxes and National Insurance and pays Child Benefit. You deal with it for Income Tax, Self Assessment, PAYE and your tax code.
Step by step
- Check you are eligible: you usually need to be working and your child must be 11 or under (16 or under if disabled). Your immigration status also matters.
- Check that your childcare provider is registered and signed up to Tax-Free Childcare.
- Apply online. In England, HMRC also checks if you can get Free Childcare for Working Parents in the same application.
- Pay into your childcare account, then pay your provider from it. Reconfirm your details every 3 months.
What you need
- Your National Insurance number (and your partner's).
- Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if you are self-employed.
- The UK birth certificate reference number of each child, if they have one.
- The date you started or will start work.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting to reconfirm every 3 months: your Tax-Free Childcare stops.
- Booking a provider that is not signed up to the scheme.