AS schools return in the North of Ireland, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding working parents they could save up to £2,000 per child per year to pay towards after-school clubs and other childcare services.
Around 30,000 families here are eligible for Tax-Free Childcare, which can cut thousands of pounds off childcare bills.
All families have to do is pay into their Tax-Free Childcare account and for every £8 that they deposit, the UK Government immediately makes a top-up payment of an additional £2.
The scheme is open to working parents, including the self-employed, who earn between the minimum wage and £100,000 per year and have children aged 0-11 years old.
Families with a disabled child, aged 0-17 years old, can receive up to £4,000 in government support each year.
Families in the North of Ireland can choose from childcare providers that have signed up to Tax-Free Childcare, including nannies, nurseries, childminders or after-school clubs.
HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, Angela MacDonald, said:
“As more parents across the country return to work and kids head back to school following the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, there has never been a better time to sign up to Tax-Free Childcare.
“It takes just minutes to set up an account on our Childcare Choices website and soon you could be receiving up to £2,000 per child towards the cost of childcare each year.”
Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis said: “I urge the 30,000 eligible families in Northern Ireland to make full use of the UK Government’s Tax-Free Childcare scheme to access savings on childcare services.
“The scheme is part of a significant package of measures that the UK Government has in place to help families in Northern Ireland as they return to work and school.”
You can find out more and apply through the Childcare Choices website www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
It includes a Childcare Calculator www.gov.uk/childcare-calculator that compares all the government’s childcare offers to check what works best for individual families.
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