Adjusted net income

Hello, I'm currently looking at the government provisions for free childcare but have become a bit confused by the definition of adjusted net income. I was under the impression that net income generally meant "after tax", but after reading around it seems that for HMRC purposes it means "before tax". Am I understanding this correctly? Can anyone explain why? Thanks in advance for any advice. Tim

Hi tj91

Your Adjusted Net Income is your total taxable income (which includes PAYE income, Self Employment income, income from property and investments etc.) minus deductions for personal pension payments, Gift Aid, and other tax reliefs.
Your Net Income is this Adjusted Net Income figure, minus the tax you would then pay on that figure.
You can read more here Personal Allowances: adjusted net income

Thank you