Tax-Free Childcare: Who Can Get It and How It Works

The government adds 20% of the bill when you pay 80% of it into your account. This table shows GOV.UK's example and what you pay in to reach each limit in a 3 month period.

Over a year, the top up for each child goes up to £2,000, or £4,000 if your child is disabled. Your payment will usually appear in your childcare account within one working day, and the government's payment is added at the same time.

Whether you can get it depends on your child's age and circumstances, whether you are working, your income and your partner's, and your immigration status. Your child is eligible until the September after they turn 11, or the September after they turn 16 if they are disabled.

A disabled child must be certified as blind or severely sight-impaired or get Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, or in Scotland Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment. Our guide to DLA for children explains how to claim it.

You cannot claim if:

• your child does not usually live with you
• you foster the child you are applying for
• you or your partner's expected adjusted net income is over £100,000 for the current tax year
• you or your partner get a childcare bursary or grant

You must have a National Insurance number and British or Irish citizenship, settled or pre-settled status, or permission to access public funds. Your partner must have a National Insurance number too. Our Personal Allowance guide explains how adjusted net income above £100,000 also reduces your tax-free allowance.

You, and your partner if you have one, must each expect to earn at least this much over the next 3 months. It is the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average.

If you started your business less than 12 months ago, it does not matter how little you earn. If you do not get paid regularly, or you are self-employed and do not expect to earn enough in the next 3 months, you can use an average of what you expect to earn over the tax year.

Dividends, interest, income from investing in property and income from a pension do not count towards the minimum. You can be on sick leave, annual leave, maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave and still usually get it.

If you are not working at the moment, you may still be eligible if your partner is working and you are eligible for Carer's Allowance, contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or National Insurance credits. In Scotland, Carer Support Payment also counts.

You can use it to pay for childminders, nurseries and nannies, and after school clubs, breakfast clubs and holiday clubs. You can also pay for extras such as nappies, meals and trips where your childcare provider supplies them.

Your provider must be approved and signed up to the scheme, so check with them before you apply. If your child is disabled, you can use the extra money for more hours of childcare, or to help your provider get specialist equipment such as mobility aids.

You cannot get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as claiming Universal Credit or childcare vouchers, and which scheme you are better off with depends on your situation. GOV.UK's childcare calculator works out which type of support is best for you.

Wait until you get a decision on your Tax-Free Childcare application before cancelling your Universal Credit claim. If you get childcare vouchers, you must tell your employer within 90 days of applying so they can stop them. Our guide to how much Universal Credit you can get covers its childcare costs element.

It usually takes 20 minutes to apply. You need your National Insurance number, and your partner's, your Unique Taxpayer Reference if you are self-employed, and your child's UK birth certificate reference number if they have one.

You can apply any time, unless you are starting or returning to work, or you are on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave. Then your start date decides when you can apply.

You will usually find out if you are eligible immediately, or within 10 days if extra checks are needed. You and your partner cannot both have accounts for the same child, and if you are separated and cannot decide who applies, both of you must apply and HMRC will decide.

If your child is between 3 and 4 years old and you live in England, you can get 15 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year. If you or your child get extra support, you may be eligible for free education and childcare for 2 year olds.

In Northern Ireland, approved childcare means the setting is registered with and inspected by one of the Health and Social Care Trusts. Our family guides cover child maintenance and the other money questions after a separation.