HMRC urges working families not to miss out on £500 tax-free boost every three months

17.11.2022 - 12:01 / dailyrecord.co.uk

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed that more than 24,900 families in Scotland benefited from UK Government funding towards childcare costs in September 2022. Overall, HMRC paid out £44.4 million in Tax-Free Childcare top-up payments to more than 401,300 families across the UK in September.

By comparison, the latest statistics show the number of families in Scotland who are using Tax-Free Childcare has increased by 6,415 since September 2021. However, HMRC warns that thousands of families are still missing out on the top-up which could save them up to £2,000 each year per child towards the cost of their childcare.

Tax-Free Childcare provides working families, earning up to £100,000 a year, with financial help towards childcare. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 from the UK Government - this means they can receive up to £500 every three months (£2,000 a year), or £1,000 (£4,000 a year) if their child is disabled.

The top up payments can be used to pay for any approved childcare for children aged 11 or under - or up to 17 if the child has a disability - whether your child goes to nursery, a child minder, has term-time wraparound care or goes to a holiday club.

Families can check their eligibility and see the options for childcare support at Childcare Choices here.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: “We know childcare can be expensive so using Tax-Free Childcare can make a huge difference to household finances. To find out more, search ‘ Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.”

Parents and carers could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they:

A full list of the eligibility criteria is available on GOV.UK here.

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