Free Childcare

One of the eligibility criteria for free childcare hours is income based. That is, if you or your partner have an expected ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000 in the current tax year, you will not be eligible. If one has earnt over this £100,000 in the current tax year (23/24), but you will not earn over the threshold in the following tax year , does one have to wait until that following tax year before one can reconfirm eligibility? I ask because another question asks if you meet a minimum income threshold now or in the next 31 days, which suggests you can ‘look forward’. However, the max income question (referred to in the para above) asks if you will exceed the £100,000 threshold “in the current tax year”. That suggests if one’s income will drop below the £100,000 in the next tax year, one has to wait until 6 April to reconfirm in order to benefit from the tax free childcare. I’m also conscious that there can be a lag between reconfirming and obtaining the free childcare due to the periods over which the free hours are applied. Therefore by waiting until 6 April to reconfirm, one may not actually get the free childcare hours until some time after that reconfirmation. Any assistance anyone can offer would be much appreciated

Hi,

Please contact our Childcare Service team for advice.

Childcare Service helpline

Thank you.

We're experiencing the same issue. Two representatives from the Childcare team assured us that we could reapply closer to the April deadline and would be accepted, as they would consider the estimated income for the next tax year if circumstances changed. However, when my husband called today, he was told otherwise—that we must apply after April 6th, which means losing the benefit for the term starting in April and only being able to reapply for the September term. Can someone clarify what our options are?

Hi,
Please contact the Childcare Service team for advice.
Childcare Service helpline
Thank you.