Talk

Hi @Jadetheobscure1989 Eligibility is based on your expected earnings for the current tax year, not your previous year’s income. When you apply, HMRC asks you to confirm what you expect to earn in the coming year, and whether you’ll stay within the thresholds (at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at minimum wage, and under £100,000 per year adjusted net income per parent).

If you’ve reduced your adjusted net income – for example through pension contributions or other allowances – and that brings you under the £100,000 maximum threshold, then you can be eligible for 30 hours. The system doesn’t look back at your past year’s earnings, it’s based on what you declare for the tax year ahead.

Yes - you may still be able to get support @RedTreeGreenTree. For 30 hours funded childcare, the usual rule is that both parents need to be working, or a single parent in a lone-parent household. But there are exceptions:

However, if one parent can’t work because of disability, caring responsibilities, or receiving certain benefits, the household can still meet the eligibility criteria. You may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you are on carer’s leave or if you get any of the following:

• Incapacity Benefit
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Limited Capability for Work Benefit
• Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance

The working parent must meet the minimum work hours (16 hours a week at least the minimum wage).

It’s worth checking your eligibility on the Childcare Choices website and speaking to your local authority or nursery. They can advise exactly what evidence is needed and how to claim the funding given your circumstances.

You can also combine this with Tax-Free Childcare to help cover any extra hours beyond the funded entitlement.

Hi @Harishrock To be eligible for the 30 hours for working parents, parents usually need to have access to public funds. This means families where both parents are on visas with a “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) condition - including most skilled worker visas - aren’t currently eligible. For more information, you can find out more on Childcare Choices.

Thanks for the context @TearsForFears25 - you’re definitely on the right track! Let’s break it down step by step so it’s easier to follow:

1. Funding calculation:

Your child is entitled to 22.8 funded hours a week, and attends 3 days a week.

Each day is longer than the funded hours, so the hours over the funded entitlement are what you pay for.

If you’ve worked out 8.7 extra hours per week and the nursery’s funded hourly rate is £6.66, multiplying 8.7 × £6.66 gives roughly £57.94 per week.

1. Spreading over the year:

The nursery spreads fees over 50 weeks and collects in 12 monthly payments, so £57.94 × 50 ÷ 12 ≈ £241.41 per month. ✅ This is exactly how your nursery has suggested to calculate it.

1. Additional costs:

Consumables or extras (like snacks, crafts) are separate. £8 per day × ~12 days per month = roughly £100.

1. Tax-Free Childcare:

Once your monthly nursery bill is final, you can use Tax-Free Childcare to reduce what you pay yourself. That comes on top of the calculation above.

So yes — your maths is correct! You’ve done a great job. If you have any other questions, your provider should be willing to talk through the way you are charged with you.

You can use your funded hours until the term your child starts in a full-time state reception class. You can find more information about wraparound childcare and Breakfast Clubs for school-aged children on the Childcare Choices website.

Tax-Free Childcare is separate. You can continue to use it to help pay for any registered childcare, including wraparound childcare, or holiday clubs, as long as your child is under 12 (or under 17 if they are disabled). Hope that helps @Sunnycovebeach!

It really depends on what works best for your family @onlymethen - there’s no “better” for everyone.

Childminders often offer more flexibility with days and hours, so you might be able to spread the funded hours over more days or fit around your work schedule.

Nurseries usually have set hours and term times, but they can offer more structured activities and socialisation with other children.

Funding works the same way for both — your entitlement is in hours, not days — so how you use them depends on what the setting can accommodate. Some parents prefer a mix: a childminder for flexibility and a nursery for structured learning.

It’s worth comparing your options and visiting settings to see what suits your child and your schedule.

Hi @littleorangefox, the 15 and 30 hours childcare only applies to families in England. For more information and guidance on childcare support in Scotland, your best bet is visiting the Parent Club website, run by the Scottish Government.

Yes @Hagr1d - the rules allow for exceptions like this. For 30 hours funded childcare, if one parent can’t work because of disability, caring responsibilities (including caring for someone elderly), and they are receiving certain benefits like Carer’s Allowance, the household can still meet the eligibility criteria.

The working parent just needs to meet the minimum income criteria (at least 16 hours per week at national minimum/ living wage).

If you're still unsure, it’s best to check through the Childcare Service so they can confirm what evidence they need for your situation. You can also combine the 30 hours with Tax-Free Childcare if you need extra support for additional hours.

Hi @DRose3 - thanks for your question. As part of the major childcare expansion plan, the government has invested extra money to help more parents balance their family life and their work life.
That extra investment is to cover the core costs of providing childcare over those 15 or 30 hours - and takes into account things like inflation and average earnings. It doesn't cover the cost of things like additional hours, food and other consumables, or extra activities, so you may still be asked to pay for those. You can use other support like Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit to help with extra costs.

Hi @ru53 - If you are applying for your oldest child (who is under school age), you can apply as normal for 30 hours.

If you want to claim 30 hours for the child you are currently on maternity leave with, the date you are eligible for this entitlement will depend on when your child turns 9 months old and the date you start work. It may be helpful to explain that the entitlements operate on a termly basis, so children become eligible for an early education and childcare place from 1 Sept, 1 Jan or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and relevant eligibility criteria are met. Hope that helps.

Hi @Pickledraspberries! If you are on shared parental leave for the child you’re applying for, you can apply for the working parent entitlement if both parents have either returned to work or have a return to work date within one month of the start of the autumn, spring or summer term. If your return to work date is the end of October, you can apply from the 1 September to access your entitlement for the January term, subject to your partner working or having a return to work date by the 31st January. You can find more information about application dates on the Best Start in life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/15-and-30-hours-support/working-families/how-to-apply

Hi @monika88,

The date your child turns 9 months old will affect when you can take up the childcare. The entitlements work on a termly system, so you can access the entitlements, subject to meeting relevant eligibility criteria, the term after your child turns 9 months old. If you are on parental leave, the date that you return to work from parental leave will affect when you can take your 30 hours.

You can find more information about application dates on the Best Start in life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/15-and-30-hours-support/working-families/how-to-apply

Hi @Lab92 – eligibility for 30 hours is based on expected income over the next 3 months, not the previous tax year. You need to be in paid work (including self-employment) and earn (or expect to be earning) at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage) and up to a maximum of £100,000 adjusted net income per parent per year.

@Firsttimemummy29 - Eligible working parents can get 30 hours from the term after their baby turns nine months old. The date that you return to work from parental leave will affect when you can take up 30 hours. As you are returning to work on the 2 December, you can apply from the term beginning 1 September and if eligible, start claiming the entitlement from the term beginning 1st January 2026. You can also use Tax-Free Childcare alongside this which you can apply for at any point. The government tops up what you pay in by 20% and it can be used for nurseries, childminders and wraparound care.

It may be helpful to explain that the entitlements operate on a termly basis, so children become eligible for an early education and childcare place from 1 Sept, 1 Jan or 1 April, the term after they reach the relevant age and relevant eligibility criteria are met.

You can find more information about how a parent’s return to work date affects when they can take up the entitlement on the Best Start in Life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/15-and-30-hours-support/working-families/how-to-apply

Hi @wellingtonsandwaffles - the rules around additional fees are quite clear - there cannot be any mandatory additional fees in relation to your entitlement hours. They also can't charge you for things like business running costs. If you don't want to pay for consumables, food or trips, speak to your nursery and find out what alternatives they offer. If they insist the charges are mandatory, speak to your local council. If you use additional hours on top of the entitlement hours, those are a private business matter. You may be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare to help with those additional hours.

This will depend on your provider @Deerm. A lot of providers will offer the 30 hours across 38 weeks of the year, during term time. Some providers are open all year round and allow parents to split their hours across up to 52 weeks of the year rather than 38 (term time only), so parents can use fewer hours over more weeks.

30 hours childcare is for children aged 9 months until they start school. You may want to look at your eligibility for other offers, such as Universal Credit Childcare and Tax-Free Childcare. There's more information about these offers and school-aged childcare on the Best Start in Life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education

Thank you to everyone who shared their questions on this thread - we hope the answers have been helpful!

@TinaWilliamsMumsnet will be posting a few more responses later this week, so keep an eye out for those.

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the prize draw is @Jadetheobscure1989 - congratulations!

Thanks for your question @LookingAtMyBhunas. If you're eligible, you can start using the hours from the term after your child turns 9 months old - so if your child turns 9 months after 31 March but before 1st September, you should be able to use the hours from September 2026 - there is more information on term dates on the Best Start in Life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/15-and-30-hours-support/working-families/how-it-works

Recourse to public funds means that individuals who are lawfully resident and settled in the UK can access benefits and support if they qualify. Unfortunately, parents without recourse to public funds aren’t eligible for the 30 hours entitlement. All families can still access the universal 15 hours for children aged 3 and 4.

Hey @Lab92 - it’s based on your expected income for the current tax year, not what you earned last year. When you apply, HMRC asks you to declare what you expect to earn over the year ahead. That’s the figure they’ll use to check whether you meet the thresholds (earning the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at national minimum wage, and under £100,000 adjusted net income per parent).

So in your case, if by the time your baby is old enough for funded hours you’re on maternity pay and your adjusted net income is under £100k for the year, you can still be eligible. The system looks at your circumstances at the point you apply, not your previous year’s earnings.

Hi @EJ1000 - we're not sure this query relates to childcare. You may want to query this with your local authority.

Yes that's right @Oxforddictionary12, it's possible for a parent to split funding so their child spends some time at a nursery and the rest of their hours at a childminder. You should speak to any interested parents and your local authority to ensure you are able to receive the correct amount of funded hours.

To be eligible to recieve the 30 hours, both you and your partner each need to expect to meet the income threshold in the next 3 months.

There is more information about eligibility and meeting the income threshold on the Best Start in Life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/15-and-30-hours-support/working-families/eligibility

Hi @Enobaria - the scheme has termly deadlines to allow providers and local authorities to plan for when children are likely to start a funded place. Unfortunately this means you will not be able to take up a place until January. Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for other forms of support such as Tax-Free Childcare, and you can find out more on the Best Start in Life website: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk

Hi @Hancor01, thanks for the question. This sounds like an issue with your childcare account - we'd recommend querying this with the Childcare Service helpline: https://www.gov.uk/find-hmrc-contacts/childcare-service-helpline