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Childcare, in real terms
Funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare are two of the biggest things families in England can get help with. Here's what they might mean for you, in money terms. Information and eligibility, with official GOV.UK links.
Funded hours (England)
Every 3–4 year-old in England can get 15 funded hours a week of early education over term time, with no income test. Working parents may get 30 funded hours, from 9 months old up to school age, if each parent meets a minimum-earnings rule and neither expects to earn over £100,000.
Tax-Free Childcare
For every £8 you pay into a Tax-Free Childcare account, the government adds £2. It's capped at £500 a quarter (£1,000 for a disabled child), and £2,000 a year per child (£4,000 if disabled), for children 11 or younger (up to 16 if disabled). It runs across the whole UK.
The catches worth knowing
If either parent expects to earn over £100,000, the household loses the 30 funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare, though the universal 15 hours for 3–4s stay. You usually can't use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as the Universal Credit childcare element or employer childcare vouchers. Funded hours are an England scheme.
Answer a few quick questions and we'll picture what funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare could be worth on your own numbers. Nothing is saved: it clears when you leave the page.
How old is your child?
Where do you live?
How many childcare hours a week?
Roughly is fine.
What's your monthly childcare cost?
Leave blank if you're not sure. We'll picture the hours instead.
Does each working parent expect to meet the minimum-earnings rule?
Does either parent expect to earn over £100,000 in 2026/27?
Adjusted net income. No need to enter a figure.
Do you use the Universal Credit childcare element or childcare vouchers?
Pick your child's age above to see what funded hours and Tax-Free Childcare could be worth.
Check on GOV.UK
Every link here goes to GOV.UK, the official government service. Blooom earns nothing from these links, and checking exactly what you can get is always worth doing on GOV.UK for your own situation.