Tax Free Childcare

[bubblybrit]

I wonder if anyone can provide a little guidance....

I have checked and found out that DH and I are eligible for the tax free childcare scheme when our DD starts nursery in February.

I obtained some information on the gov.uk website.

However, I have no idea when I should apply if DD is due to start mid February. Do I apply now (although nursery haven’t provided any bank details for payment as yet) or do I wait until she has started nursery?

If nursery fees are say £1000 then do I pay £800 given that the government will top this up so that the payment received by the nursery is the full £1000? Does the application automatically calculate what you need to pay or do you work this out for yourself?

Is the payment sent automatically to the nursery or do you need to log onto your account to send the payment on a monthly basis?

Sorry for all the questions. Everyone I know uses the childcare vouchers so can’t comment on this scheme. I have asked the nursery but they weren’t able to provide any clarity.

I just applied for DS2 in December, he started at the start of January and they contacted me to confirm I was going back from maternity leave within a month of my application.

The system is basically an online government account. You calculate how much you need to put in then the top up and full amount is shown on your account. It takes a day or two for the funds from your bank to clear.

You then can either make one off payments or set up a monthly payment to your nursery. That's very simple to do as long as they are registered to accept the payments from the system (which I believe the vast majority are). You basically search for the nursery and set up the payments.

It's all incredibly straightforward when you log in and get set up :)

That was put in paragraphs to make it simple. Damn you Mumsnet app.

Thank you @NannyPear. I’ve been in a panic about it all week as I was expecting the nursery to have confirmed their account details by now (as thought you needed them to complete the application form).

If the nursery requires payment on the 1st of each month then does the system work out the date in which the payment leaves the account or do you need to input it? If it’s the latter then what do you suggest to ensure the payment reaches the nursery on time?

You tell the system the date you want the recurrent payment to be made on, but remember that it might take a day or so to clear at the nursery's end.

My nursery invoice on the 1st and you have 2 weeks to pay, so my payment leaves on the 10th.

You don't want to apply too early as you have to renew your details every three months.

That’s great @januarysickntiredofyou. Thank you. I’m sure it’s pretty straightforward when you go through the application. I’m clearly overthinking it!

It was really simple to set up! You set up the account, they give you a sort code, account number and reference to pay money into it. Once your payment has been receieved, they top up 20% (you will need to figure out how much to put in, but if you put in too much it will be there for next month).

You search for the nursery by postcode, you don't need their account details. If theh require payment on the 1st, I would probably set it up for the 28th (I don't know how it would cope in Feb if you put the 30th!).

I’m feeling better now that a few people have said that it’s relatively simple to set up! Thanks @ sewinginscotland