Child care costs government help

[amywhattodo]

Does the government help with child care costs for 2 Full time working parents?

What do they usually help with?

There is universal credit for those on lower incomes and then tax relief (tax free childcare) for those who earn too much to be entitled to universal credit

You can set up a tax free childcare account- you transfer money in and the government tops up 20% (up to £2k a year I think). You then transfer onto the childcare provider. You can also get salary sacrifice schemes etc so worth checking through work.

what is your household income/individual incomes? Help depends on that.

As long as you are not a high earner then the Government offer a Tax free childcare scheme. It is not the easisest scheme to navigate but you set up an online Government Gateway account and tell them how much you want to pay the nusery/babysitter/etc. You then set up a standing order for 80% of that amount and the Government then tops up the rest and pays the childcare provider. There is a website that can calculate your amount called the Tax Free Childcare calculator. You can also apply for Child benefit. None of it is great but it is better than nothing. Here's hoping the next Government will address this......

Tax free childcare- £2 for every £8 you put in up to a limit
low income families get help from 2yrs old, universal
15hrs of childcare The term after a child turns 3 or 30hrs if both parents working but have a taxable income of under 100k

You can get the tax free childcare.
www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare

The term after they turn three you can get 15 or 30 hours funding but all nurseries charge differently for that as the government doesn't pay enough. They charge for lunch, nappies, activities as they can't just charge a fee top up.
One nursery I looked at the funding only took £10 a day off others nurseries it made it half the price of the normal fee.

Generally childminders don't charge extras or if they do it's much less you can use funding with them

We didn't want a childminder due to childminder holiday or sickness and no school run or car using and pets. I'm much happier knowing that my child is at one place all day!
But I know you can get great childminder but not for us. We have a great nursery.

All your options are here www.childcarechoices.gov.uk