Tax-Free Childcare Calculator

Work out your Tax-Free Childcare top-up, the free hours you can get in England and what childcare costs you after help, with a Universal Credit comparison.

Reviewed by Dany, RightSums team · Updated 28 September 2026

Runs in your browser. Free, no sign-up.

personal-finance · Daily life · UK

Enter each child's age and childcare cost, and what each parent earns, and the tool tells you if you qualify for Tax-Free Childcare and funded free hours, and why. It shows the government top-up per child and in total, for the year and the quarter, and flags when you reach the £2,000 cap (£4,000 for a disabled child). In England it adds the 15 or 30 funded hours your child can get, valued at your provider's hourly rate, then shows what you pay after all help. If you get Universal Credit, it compares the 85% childcare element with Tax-Free Childcare so you can see which pays more, and it lists the GOV.UK steps to apply.

Accepted inputs

Where you live: England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland
Single parent or couple
Each parent's work status: working, on leave, new business, on carer or incapacity benefits, or not working
Each parent's age band and hours and hourly pay, or expected earnings over the next 3 months
Whether either parent expects adjusted net income over £100,000
If you get Universal Credit or employer childcare vouchers
England: if you get extra support for the 2-year-old offer
For each child: age in years and months, whether disabled, cost per week or month, weeks and hours of childcare, provider's hourly rate (optional)
If your costs are before or after free hours are taken off

Outputs

Eligibility for Tax-Free Childcare per child, with the reasons
Each parent's earnings test against the minimum for their age
Yearly and quarterly top-up per child and in total, with a note when the cap is reached
England: funded free hours now (15 or 30 a week) and their value at your provider's rate
Dates when free hours start or stop, and when Tax-Free Childcare ends
What you pay a year and a month after all help
Tax-Free Childcare vs the Universal Credit childcare element
Short notes for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with official links
Next steps with GOV.UK links
Link prefill for children's ages and costs

How to use the Tax-Free Childcare Calculator

Enter each child's age, the childcare cost and the hours they attend, then each parent's work and expected earnings.
The tool checks the GOV.UK rules: each parent must expect to earn at least 16 hours a week at the minimum wage, neither can expect income over £100,000, and the child must be under the age limit.
In England it takes off the value of the 15 or 30 funded hours at your provider's hourly rate, then adds a 20% top-up to the rest, up to £2,000 a year per child or £4,000 if disabled.
It then shows what you pay after help, compares the result with the Universal Credit childcare element if you claim it, and links to the GOV.UK pages to apply.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Tax-Free Childcare save?

The government adds £2 for every £8 you pay in, which is 20% of your childcare bill, up to £2,000 a year per child. A £10,000 bill for after-school and holiday clubs means you pay in £8,000 and the government adds £2,000. A bigger bill gets no more: at £12,000 you still get £2,000 and pay £10,000.

Who can get Tax-Free Childcare?

Working parents of children aged 11 or under, or 16 or under if disabled. Each parent must expect to earn at least £2,643.68 over the next 3 months if 21 or over, which is 16 hours a week at £12.71. Neither parent can expect adjusted net income over £100,000, and you cannot claim it with Universal Credit or childcare vouchers.

Can I get 30 hours free childcare and Tax-Free Childcare together?

Yes, in England you can use both. For a 3 year old at nursery 50 hours a week for 51 weeks at £1,500 a month, the 1,140 funded hours are worth £8,047.06 at about £7.06 an hour. Tax-Free Childcare then adds £1,990.59 to the remaining £9,952.94 bill, so you pay £7,962.35 a year.

Is Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit childcare better?

Universal Credit pays back up to 85% of costs, capped at £1,071.09 a month for one child, while Tax-Free Childcare pays 20%. For a £1,000 monthly bill, UC could add up to £850 a month against £2,000 a year from Tax-Free Childcare. Your earnings reduce your whole UC payment, so check your full award first.

What happens when I reach the Tax-Free Childcare limit?

The top-up stops for that child until the next 3-month period, and you pay the rest yourself. The limit is £500 a quarter, or £1,000 for a disabled child, so £2,500 of childcare in a quarter uses it up. You must also sign in every 3 months to reconfirm, or the top-up stops.

Sources

The rates and rules in this tool come from:

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