Childcare Costs Calculator

Understanding UK Childcare Support Schemes

The UK government offers several schemes to help working parents with the cost of childcare. Understanding which scheme is best for your family can save you thousands of pounds each year. Tax-Free Childcare is available to working parents earning under £100,000 each. For every £8 you pay into your childcare account, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for disabled children). This is equivalent to a 20% top-up on your childcare costs.

30 Hours Free Childcare provides 30 hours of free childcare per week during term time (38 weeks) for 3 and 4 year olds, with eligibility extending to 2 year olds from September 2025 and 9 months and older from September 2025. Both parents must be working and earning under £100,000 each. At a typical nursery rate of £6 per hour, this is worth around £6,840 per year. Note that you cannot claim both 30 Hours Free and Tax-Free Childcare for the same hours, but you can use Tax-Free Childcare to pay for any additional hours.

Childcare Vouchers are a legacy salary sacrifice scheme that closed to new applicants in October 2018. If you are already enrolled, you can continue to receive up to £243 per month tax and NI free (basic rate taxpayers). For families on Universal Credit, the childcare element covers up to 85% of eligible childcare costs, with a maximum of £1,014.63 per month for one child or £1,739.37 for two or more children. Use our calculator above to compare all schemes and find the option that saves you the most.