This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Please read our policies for more information.

10 Chartered Accountants

News

New start date for Tax-Free Childcare
04 August 2015

The start date for a new government scheme offering help with childcare costs has been put back by more than a year.

It was originally planned that the Tax-Free Childcare initiative would be introduced in autumn 2015.

But when legal action was brought by a group of childcare voucher providers involved in delivering the scheme that Tax-Free Childcare will eventually replace, they were granted an interim order preventing implementation of Tax-Free Childcare.

Following a Supreme Court judgement in the government’s favour on 1 July, the Treasury said that Tax-Free Childcare was now expected to launch from early 2017.

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Damian Hinds said: “We are pleased that the government’s proposals for delivering Tax-Free Childcare have been found to be clearly lawful. We are now pressing ahead with the scheme as part of our ongoing commitment to support working families.”

Tax-Free Childcare will provide up to 1.8 million families across the UK with up to £2,000 of childcare support per year, per child, via an online system.

The existing Employer‑Supported Childcare scheme, often referred to as childcare vouchers, will remain open to new entrants until Tax-Free Childcare is launched. Parents who wish to remain in Employer-Supported Childcare once Tax-Free Childcare is launched will be able to do so, while their current employer continues to offer the voucher scheme.

Link: Tax-Free Childcare information

Link: The Supreme Court ruling

Other recent news

Autumn Budget 2025
26 November 2025

The Government faced a difficult job going into the Autumn…
Read more

The signs of digital wallet abuse you need to look out for
05 November 2025

Digital wallet abuse is on the rise as criminal networks…
Read more

Preparing for Plan 5: The newest student loan payment structure
05 November 2025

Students who started their undergraduate and advanced learner loan courses…
Read more

The UK’s residency rules explained – Six months on from the change
05 November 2025

In April 2025, the UK’s ‘non-domicile regime’ was replaced with…
Read more

Bank and building society interest – What needs to be reported under Self Assessment?
05 November 2025

HMRC has confirmed it is changing the way it will…
Read more

»

Case Studies