UK Tax-Free Childcare: top-up, caps and eligibility
Tax-Free Childcare adds government money to an eligible childcare account. The contribution rule, cap for each child, approved-provider requirement and household eligibility conditions are separate.
On this page
- Top-up
- £2 added for every £8 paid into the account.
- Ordinary cap
- £500 every 3 months per child, up to £2,000 a year.
- Disabled-child cap
- £1,000 every 3 months per child, up to £4,000 a year.
- Upper income condition
- Neither partner’s expected adjusted net income can be over £100,000 for the current tax year.HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare eligibility
Top-up and quarterly caps
For every £8 paid into the childcare account, the government adds £2. GOV.UK also expresses the government contribution as 20% of a childcare bill. These descriptions use different denominators: the parent’s deposit and the total bill. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare (opens in a new tab).
The government top-up is capped per child at £500 every 3 months, up to £2,000 a year. For an eligible disabled child, the cap is £1,000 every 3 months, up to £4,000 a year. These are caps on government money, not the total childcare bill. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare (opens in a new tab).
Eligibility is more than an income ceiling
A child is ordinarily eligible until the September after turning 11. An eligible disabled child remains eligible until the September after turning 16, subject to the published disability conditions. The child must usually live with the claimant and cannot be a foster child for this claim. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare eligibility (opens in a new tab).
The claimant and any partner normally must each meet an expected-earnings requirement over the next 3 months, equivalent to the applicable National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for an average of 16 hours a week. Published exceptions cover some leave, benefits and new self-employment. Neither partner’s expected adjusted net income, including foreign income, can be over £100,000 in the current tax year. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare eligibility (opens in a new tab).
Eligibility also depends on immigration status and National Insurance numbers. Tax-Free Childcare cannot be received alongside Universal Credit or childcare vouchers, and a childcare bursary or grant for either partner prevents a claim. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare eligibility (opens in a new tab).
Provider, reconfirmation and scope
Childcare must be approved and the provider signed up to the scheme. Eligibility details must be reconfirmed every 3 months or Tax-Free Childcare stops. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare (opens in a new tab).
This is general information adapted from HMRC material under the Open Government Licence v3.0, without endorsement. No matching UK childcare calculator or worked top-up calculation is available here. The page does not decide eligibility, compare support schemes or determine an individual award. HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare (opens in a new tab).