Help understanding tax free childcare hours from government

How does this scheme work? How do I work out how much I will save with this? Is it allocated per term at nursery like 15 hours funding? Can I use it for a childminder before she goes to nursery? Or will this eat into our yearly allowance for 2025? What’s the best way to use it?
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You get the invoice from the childminder or nursery and it says how much you owe. You pay 80% of this amount into your tax free childcare account, the govt top up with the other 20%, then you pay your provider from that account. There is a cap of £500 topup every three months.

Thanks so much Sophie!! That’s great!

What Sophie said 👌 Make sure your childcare provider accepts tax free childcare but tbh most do!

With a childminder I would check because when I was researching there was a couple that said they didn't accept so just check. On that front, some did, some didn't. Most nurseries. You have to renew eligibility every 3 months like the nursery hours but if you're getting both, at least for us it does both at the time so when you renew, it does both!

Thanks Caroline and Bethan. When does the 3 months begin? Is it from when you start using the code or is it every school term I.e Jan-March,April-June,July-September, October- December?

So I getting 15 hours free funding and then 20% off on top from this scheme? That’s great help as I’m not eligible for anything else

Ooh good question on the time period but I'm not sure. Probably every 3 months you use it as it'll be different for everyone. It's capped at £500 a quarter so up to £2k a year off. And yes, you get funded hours and tax free childcare assuming you're eligible. Most people are!

Thanks so much!

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