Support available to north-east families for summer childcare costs
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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reminded working families in Scotland that they can use Tax-Free Childcare to help pay for their childcare costs over the summer.
A top-up payment for working parents, it can be used to help pay for accredited holiday clubs, childminders or sports activities giving parents and carers that extra peace of mind that their child is having fun during the school summer holidays and it can save them money.
Tax-Free Childcare is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 if the child has a disability. For every £8 deposited into an account, families will receive an additional £2 in UK Government top-up, capped at £500 every three months, or £1000 if the child is disabled.
Parents and carers can check their eligibility and register for Tax-Free Childcare via GOV.UK
They can apply for an account at any time and start using it straight away. By depositing money into their accounts, families can benefit from the 20 per cent top-up and use the money to pay for childcare costs when they need to, for example, during the summer holidays.
HMRC’s director general for customer services Myrtle Lloyd said: “We want to help kids stay active this summer, whether they are going to summer holiday clubs or a childminder.
"A childcare top-up will go a long way towards helping parents plan and pay for summer activities to keep their kids happy and healthy.
“To find out more search ‘tax-free childcare’ on GOV.UK.”
A total of 15,240 working families used their account in March 2021 in Scotland. And in the same month, HMRC paid out more than £33 million in top-up payments, which was shared between more than 282,000 families across the UK.
Tax-Free Childcare is also available for pre-school aged children attending nurseries, childminders or other providers. Families with younger kids will often have higher costs than families with older children.
Childcare providers can also sign up for an account via GOV.UK to receive payments from parents and carers via the scheme.
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid said: “Working families have the option of using Tax-Free Childcare to help pay care costs over the summer holidays.
“This top up will help greatly to those working families who have been affected by the pandemic and are looking to keep their children active and engaged over the summer break.
“I strongly encourage eligible families in my constituency to take advantage of this opportunity.”
