Need help with your childcare fees?
There are various Government Schemes to help parents with childcare costs including:
Early Years Education Entitlement
The Early Years Education Entitlement is a contribution by the Government towards the cost of your childcare or early education
Early Years Education Entitlement
The Early Years Education Entitlement is a contribution by the Government towards the cost of your childcare or early education
The funded government contribution is available for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, up to 15 or 30 hours per week during term time, subject to your circumstances. Any additional hours required can be provided at an extra cost.
- 2 years olds (15 hours free childcare)
- 3 & 4 years olds (15 hours free childcare)
- 3 & 4 year olds (30 hours free childcare)
For more information please click here
Tax Free Childcare
If you’re a working parent with children under 12 (or under 17 for disabled children), you can open an online account to pay for registered childcare. The government will top-up the money you pay into the account. For every £8 you pay in, the government will add an extra £2. You can receive up to £2,000 per child, or £4,000 if your child is disabled.
Tax Free Childcare, 10 things parents should know click here
Universal Credit for Childcare
If you, and any partner, are working, or you’re due to start work, and you’re claiming Universal Credit, you can claim back up to 85% of your eligible childcare costs for children under 16. You could get up to £646 a month for one child, or £1,108 for two or more.
Universal Credit is being phased in over the next few years. It will replace a number of existing benefits, including tax credits. Whether you can claim will depend on where you live and your personal circumstances. Contact the helpline on 0845 300 3900.
Help from Employers
Your employer can offer help with childcare by using childcare vouchers which can give a huge saving on your tax and N.I. contributions. To make this saving, your employer will need to pay part of your salary to you by way of childcare vouchers and therefore the cost of childcare is taken out of your salary before tax and NI are calculated. Your employer will need to already be registered with one of the childcare voucher schemes. Individual employers have a variety of schemes to choose from, please ask your employer to see if they provide a scheme.
The funded government contribution is available for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, up to 15 or 30 hours per week during term time, subject to your circumstances. Any additional hours required can be provided at an extra cost.