Bucks families urged to access childcare scheme

HMRC are reminding eligible parents in Bucks to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare.

Author: Scarlett Bawden-GaulPublished 2nd Sep 2020

Working parents in Buckinghamshire are being reminded the could save up to £2,000 per year to pay towards childcare.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) estimates around 190,000 families in the South East are eligible for the Tax-Free Childcare.

The scheme is open to working parents, including the self-employed, who earn between the minimum wage and £100,00 a year and who have children under 12 years old.

Families with a disable child under the age of 17 are able to receive up to £4,000 in government support each year.

Eligible families pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account and for every £8 that they deposit, the UK Government will immediately make atop-up payment of £2.

HMRC's Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, Angela MacDonald, said:

"As more parents across the country return to work and kids head back to school following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, there has never been a better time to sign up to Tax-Free Childcare.

"It takes just minutes to set up an account on our improved and more accessible Childcare Choices website and soon you could be receiving up to £2,000 per child towards the cost of childcare each year."

Families are able to choose from childcare providers that have signed up to Tax-Free Childcare. This includes nannies, nurseries, childminders, breakfast clubs and after-school clubs.

You can find out more and apply though the Childcare Choices website.

There is also a Childcare Calculator that compares all the governments childcare offers so that families can work out what is best for them.