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A helping hand with the cost of children’s summer activities
13 July 2021

Parents faced with the financial headache of childcare over the long school summer holidays are reminded they can get support from the Government.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is reminding working families that they can use Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for their childcare costs over the summer.

Tax-Free Childcare – a childcare top-up for working parents – has been available for some time.

It can be used to help pay for accredited holiday clubs, childminders or sports activities, giving parents and carers that extra peace of mind during the school summer holidays and saving them money.

The scheme is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability.

For every £8 deposited into an account, families will receive an additional £2 in Government top-up, capped at £500 every three months, or £1,000 if the child is disabled.

Parents and carers can check their eligibility and register for Tax-Free Childcare on GOV.UK.

They can apply for an account at any time and start using it straight away.

By depositing money into their accounts, families can benefit from the 20 per cent top-up and use the money to pay for childcare costs when they need to, especially during the summer holidays.

More than 282,000 working families used their account in March 2021, the highest recorded number of families in any one month since the scheme was launched in April 2017. These families received a share of more than £33 million in Government top-up payments.

Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders or other childcare providers.

Families with younger children will often have higher childcare costs than families with older children, so the tax-free savings can make a difference.

Childcare providers can also sign up for a childcare provider account on GOV.UK to receive payments from parents and carers via the scheme.

Link: Tax-Free Childcare