Route 1
Child Benefit and ANI thresholds
Best when a pay rise, bonus or extra income starts to collide with household support.
Pick the family decision first
Route 2
Childcare costs and support
Best when you need the next-step answer on Tax-Free Childcare, free hours and the thresholds that gate access.
Route 3
Leave planning and cashflow
Best when the question is about months of leave, statutory pay and who takes which block.
Household-level calculators
Threshold
Child Benefit / HICBC
Estimate the clawback and what pension or gift-aid changes do to it.
Income
Adjusted Net Income
Work out the number behind several of the family support cliffs.
Childcare
Tax-Free Childcare
Compare the support routes before nursery costs are locked in.
Leave
Maternity Pay
Map paid weeks, unpaid weeks and the cashflow shape of leave.
Leave
Shared Parental Leave
Check what can still be shared after maternity or adoption leave is curtailed.
Couple
Marriage Allowance
Check one of the simplest household-level savings people often miss.
Fast answers and routes
FAQ
What is adjusted net income?
The short answer behind the family support thresholds that catch people out.
Journey
New parent money journey
Use the route map if you know the life event but not yet the exact page order.
Update
Tax-year update hub
Best for the pages worth revisiting after a fiscal event or deadline season.
The full topic map
UK family finance covers childcare (Tax-Free Childcare, funded hours), parental leave (SMP, SPP, ShPL), Child Benefit + HICBC, education savings (JISA, LISA), and life-event transitions (marriage, divorce, bereavement). This hub maps the full territory.
Childcare costs and government support
UK childcare is among the most expensive in Europe. Three main government support routes: 30 hours funded childcare (3-4 year-olds), Tax-Free Childcare top-up (£2,000/child/year cap), and Universal Credit childcare element. They don't all stack — the right one depends on income and working patterns.
- Tax-Free Childcare calculator — see the 20% government top-up impact
- First baby money guide — first-year cost roadmap
- Caring for family — broader carer / dependent costs
Maternity and paternity pay
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) runs for up to 39 weeks: 6 weeks at 90% earnings, then 33 weeks at £194.32 (2026/27 rate). Paternity at £194.32 for 1-2 weeks. Enhanced employer schemes can substantially exceed statutory but are not universal — check your contract.
- Maternity pay calculator — see SMP + enhanced employer impact
- Paternity pay calculator — SPP + enhanced scheme impact
Child Benefit and HICBC
Child Benefit is £27.05/week first child, £17.90 each additional (2026/27). Higher Income Child Benefit Charge kicks in from £60,000 ANI, tapers to zero CB by £80,000. Even if you opt out of CB cash, you should still claim it on paper to preserve National Insurance credits for the State Pension.
- Child Benefit / HICBC calculator — taper + opt-out maths
- HICBC deep dive — all the rules and edge cases
- Opt out vs claim and pay — NI credit considerations
- How CB clawback works — the mechanics of HICBC
Saving for children
Junior ISA allowance is £9,000/year per child (2026/27), held in trust until age 18 when it becomes the child's ISA. Lifetime ISA (from age 18) gives 25% government bonus. Bare trusts and discretionary trusts offer more flexibility but are taxed.
- Best Junior ISA platform — comparison + use case
Marriage, divorce, bereavement
Tax interacts with relationship status in subtle ways: Marriage Allowance for lower-earner spouses, inter-spouse transfers (no-gain-no-loss CGT, no IHT), Civil Partnership equivalence, and the changed CGT position on divorce (3-year window for no-gain-no-loss transfers).
- Marriage Allowance checker — £252/year + backdate 4 years
- Getting married money guide — tax and money checklist
- Divorce finances — CGT, pension sharing, settlement basics
- Bereavement admin — the first 30 / 60 / 90 days
- Probate + IHT — estate administration
Money education and the Kids site
Free UK financial-education resources for ages 5-18 live on our sister site kids.uktaxdrag.co.uk — including age-banded lesson packs, classroom-ready worksheets, and parent handouts. No advertising on Kids.
- All teacher + parent resources — centralised downloads page
- UK Tax Drag Kids — age 5-18 money education sister site
Editorial accountability
Open Trust Centre →
How UK Tax Drag holds itself to account
Every page is reviewed against the editorial standards, written from primary sources, sourced openly, and corrected publicly. No affiliate revenue. No sponsored content. No paid placements.