Use this to work out which childcare support route is likely to fit: Tax-Free Childcare, England's 30 hours for working parents, the universal 15 hours for 3 to 4-year-olds, or a different route because earnings, ANI or Universal Credit change the picture.
Important distinction: Tax-Free Childcare is UK-wide. The free-hours comparison on this page uses the England rules for working-parent childcare and universal 15 hours.
This chooser handles the standard income and age rules. Special leave or benefit exceptions can still make you eligible even if the simple earnings test here says no.
Likely best route from the details entered
Check the route mixEstimated annual Tax-Free Childcare top-up: £0
Estimated annual Tax-Free Childcare top-up£0Headline annual value of working-parent free hours£0Headline annual value of universal 15 hours£0Minimum earnings test resultNot checked yet
Tax-Free ChildcareCheck inputs30 hours for working parentsCheck inputsUniversal 15 hoursCheck inputs
What this means
Tax-Free Childcare and the England free-hours schemes overlap, but they are not the same thing. One gives a cash top-up into a childcare account, the other gives funded hours with an approved provider.
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For Tax-Free Childcare, the key tests are the child's age, whether each adult's adjusted net income is under £100,000, and whether each adult meets the minimum earnings rule or the new-self-employed exception. For England's 30 hours, the work and ANI logic is similar, but the child must be aged 9 months to 4 years.
Tax-Free Childcare cannot be claimed at the same time as childcare vouchers or Universal Credit childcare support.
All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can usually get 15 hours for 38 weeks a year, even if the working-parent route does not apply.
The free-hours value shown here is a headline estimate using the hourly cost you entered. Providers can still charge for extras or spread hours over more weeks.
This page uses the standard published 2026 minimum earnings thresholds over the next 3 months: £2,643.68 if aged 21+, £2,256.80 if aged 18 to 20, and £1,664 if under 18 or an apprentice.