What if I don't use any of my 30 funded hours?

[Finnemoo]

Hello, just looking for some clarification as I can't seem to find out by Googling. I really appreciate any help!

If I have registered for the 30 hours funding for my 4yo, but I haven't given the childcare provider the code yet, will my tax credits be affected at all?

4yo has been going to preschool for 18 hours/week, and up until Feb I've been paying the additional 3 hours (on top of the universal 15 hours) myself. My earnings have changed and I'm now eligible for the 30 hours, so I applied in Feb and received my code. But I haven't passed it on yet due to everything that's happened since.

Does anyone know if being "registered" for the 30 hours will negatively affect my tax credits, even if my code hasn't actually been used yet?

Thanks in advance!

No it won’t. Your tax credits are only affected if your childcare costs go down and you inform tax credits you are paying less. They will then revise your claim.

Just to add: I don't intend to increase the hours any further, so I was only planning to use 3 of the "extended" hours offered by the 30 hours funding, on top of the 15 hours that are available to everyone.

Hope that makes sense!

Snozzlemaid, sorry cross-posted! Thank you so much for that, that's what I understood but couldn't find it stated anywhere.

What is it you want to know?