Free Childcare Hours Entitlement Checker (UK, 2026)
Check your funded childcare hours across all four UK nations, plus Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit childcare — and see your real monthly bill.
Your family
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’t combine with TFC.
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.
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How This Tool Works
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.
- 1Enter your child’s date of birth and UK nation.
- 2Enter both parents’ incomes (or tick single-parent).
- 3Enter working hours per parent (minimum 16h/wk for working-parent hours).
- 4Enter your nursery weekly fee (or we’ll use a regional average).
- 5Toggle Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit childcare.
- 6We calculate funded hours, stackable support, and your real out-of-pocket.
- 7We show upcoming entitlement milestones as your child ages.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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