Save up to £2,000 with tax-free childcare

Government help with childcare costs is available to parents who aren't already receiving Tax Credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers

As schools return in the North West, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working parents they could save up to £2,000 per child per year to pay towards after-school clubs and other childcare services.

Around 170,000 families in the North West are eligible for tax-free childcare, which can cut thousands of pounds off childcare bills.

Government help with childcare costs is available to those parents who aren't already receiving Tax Credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.

All families have to do is pay into their tax-free childcare account and for every £8 that they deposit, the UK government immediately makes a top-up payment of an additional £2. The scheme is open to working parents, including the self-employed, who earn between the minimum wage and £100,000 per year and have children aged 0-11 years old. Families with a disabled child, aged 0-17 years old, can receive up to £4,000 in government support each year.

HMRC has also updated the childcare choices website so parents can now get personalised scheme information for each child.

Families can choose from childcare providers that have signed up to tax-free childcare, including nannies, nurseries, childminders or after-school clubs.

HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, Angela MacDonald, said: “As more parents across the country return to work and kids head back to school following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, there has never been a better time to sign up to tax-free childcare.

“It takes just minutes to set up an account on our improved and more accessible childcare choices website and soon you could be receiving up to £2,000 per child towards the cost of childcare each year.”

You can find out more and apply through the childcare choices website. It includes a childcare calculator that compares all the government’s childcare offers to check what works best for individual families:

• www.childcarechoices.gov.uk