Tax-Free Childcare Calculator 2026/27

Tax-Free Childcare gives working parents a 20% top-up on money paid into a dedicated childcare account — for every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum top-up of £2,000 per child per year (£4,000 per year for a disabled child). That means you'd need to pay in £8,000 (or £16,000 for a disabled child) to receive the maximum government contribution.

To qualify, both parents (or the sole parent in a single-parent household) generally need to be working and each earning at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum or Living Wage, and neither parent can have an individual income over £100,000 in the tax year. It's not available if you're already claiming Universal Credit childcare costs or childcare vouchers through an employer scheme.

Worked example: a family with two children paying £800/month total in nursery fees (£9,600/year) could receive a government top-up of up to £2,000 per child, or £4,000 total if both children's costs qualify for the maximum — provided both parents meet the income and work requirements and pay enough into the account to unlock the full top-up.

Tax-Free Childcare can be used for registered childminders, nurseries, nannies, after-school clubs and holiday clubs. It can't be combined with Universal Credit's childcare element or with employer-provided childcare vouchers, so it's worth comparing which scheme gives your household the better outcome before switching.