Free Childcare Hours Entitlement Checker (UK, 2026)

Check which free childcare hours your child qualifies for (England 15/30, Scotland 1,140, Wales 30 Flying Start, NI 22.5 pre-school) based on age, parental income and working status. Layers on Tax-Free Childcare (20% top-up up to £2,000/yr) or Universal Credit childcare (85% of costs), and models the full annual saving vs raw nursery fees in your region.

⏱️ 3-5 minutes • 💪 Quick

Updated April 2026

How This Tool Works

📋 Purpose

UK childcare support is fragmented across four nations and three overlapping central schemes. Most parents miss funding they could claim, or incorrectly stack schemes that are mutually exclusive (Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit). This tool checks eligibility across every scheme that applies to you and outputs a single number: what your childcare will actually cost per month after all support.

⚙️ How It Works

  1. 1
    Enter your child’s date of birth and UK nation.
  2. 2
    Enter both parents’ incomes (or tick single-parent).
  3. 3
    Enter working hours per parent (minimum 16h/wk for working-parent hours).
  4. 4
    Enter your nursery weekly fee (or we’ll use a regional average).
  5. 5
    Toggle Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit childcare.
  6. 6
    We calculate funded hours, stackable support, and your real out-of-pocket.
  7. 7
    We show upcoming entitlement milestones as your child ages.

Free childcare hours — UK, 2026

How many funded childcare hours are you entitled to — and what’s the real monthly bill?

Check your eligibility for the 30-hour scheme (England), 1,140-hour scheme (Scotland), Childcare Offer (Wales), Tax-Free Childcare, and Universal Credit childcare element.

Your family

Single parent

Must be ≥16h/week for working-parent hours.

Gov adds £2 per £8 you save, up to £2,000/yr.

85% of costs up to £1,014/mo (one child). Can\u2019t combine with TFC.

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Complete Guide: Free Childcare Hours (UK, 2026)

Every funded-hour scheme across the four nations, plus Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare.

📅 Last updated: April 2026

Quick Tips

Jump-start your understanding with these essential tips

Adjusted net income is pre-pension. Salary-sacrifice £500/mo into a pension and a £105k earner drops to £99k — keeping the 30 hours, worth ~£7,000/yr.

You must have your 11-digit code BEFORE the term start (April, September, January). Miss the deadline and you wait a whole term.

HMRC sends a reminder email. Miss the reconfirmation window and your code lapses — you stop receiving funded hours until you re-apply.

30h × 38 weeks = 1,140 funded hours. Stretched: ~22h × 52 weeks = same total. Ask which your nursery uses.

Families on Universal Credit almost always win with UC (85% reimbursement up to £1,014/mo) unless childcare is cheap. Higher earners must use TFC.

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these steps to get the most from this tool

This determines which age-band rules apply — 9 months+, 2 years, 3-4 years, or already at school.

Four different schemes with different rules. Scotland and Wales are more generous in some ways; England has more working-parent hours.

The £100,000 cap applies INDIVIDUALLY — not household. Single parent? Tick the switch and only P1 income matters.

Minimum 16h/week each to qualify for working-parent hours. A single parent in a couple not working triggers loss of entitlement for both.

If you have a real nursery quote enter the weekly rate. Otherwise leave at 0 and we'll use the regional Coram Family and Childcare average.

Pick whichever suits your income. If on Universal Credit the UC childcare element almost always beats TFC.

Advanced Topics

Deep dives for advanced users

Because the cliff is individual, a £110k + £40k couple can keep 30 hours by having the £110k earner salary-sacrifice £10,001 extra into a pension or EV. Savings: ~£7,000/yr on funded hours + ~£4,000/yr in tax relief. Net benefit: £11,000/yr from a £10k pension top-up.

Each child gets their own 30h entitlement (if eligible). Tax-Free Childcare cap is £2,000 per child. Universal Credit cap rises to £1,739/mo for two or more children. Savings stack roughly linearly.

You still qualify if your income meets the £9,518 threshold. HMRC looks at average income over 3 months. Newly self-employed parents (in first 12 months of trading) can use a reduced income test to qualify.

The £100k cap is per parent. A couple earning £95k + £95k (combined £190k) keeps full 30 hours. A couple earning £150k + £40k (combined £190k) loses them. This asymmetry drives a lot of pension-planning decisions.

See Cost of Raising a Child for the full lifetime cost, or Maternity Pay to model parental leave income.

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