For parents who work full time, the summer holidays are not usually met with the same excitement and anticipation as they are for their school-aged children.
Since workplaces can’t simply close for six weeks of the year, or give every parent to a young or school-aged child the summer off, then parents need to juggle work with childcare during the holidays.
However, childcare options are, not only limited, which leads to huge waiting lists for places, but the prices for them are among the highest in Europe.
With the cost of living on the rise significantly this year, parents are facing even bigger challenges when it comes to securing affordable, reliable childcare over the summer holidays that allows them to go to work.
In this post, we’re going to be looking at a new initiative from the HMRC that aims to give working families with young and school-aged children a boost of up to £500 every three months.
What is the Tax-Free Childcare Initiative?
This scheme has been set up to provide a tax-free cash boost to working parents of young and school-aged children during the summer holidays to reduce the financial burden on paying for childcare.
This payment comes as a £500, tax-free boost for working parents who have one or more young or school-aged child that requires care during the summer holidays, and up to £1,000 for those who have a child who’s disabled, or requires additional care.
What Does It Cover?
The tax-free childcare scheme covers all registered and approved childcare schemes, including private nurseries, childminders, after school clubs, and holiday clubs.
Am I Eligible For The Tax-Free Childcare Initiative?
The UK government have estimated that around 1.3 million families in the UK are eligible for this boost, but they may not be aware of it, or for some reason, think it doesn’t apply to them.
However, if you’re a working parent, and have a young child, or one who’s in school, then there’s a good chance you could be eligible for this, and could be missing out by not applying.
Checking your eligibility and applying through the HMRC website is easy, so take a look today and find out if you could be making use of this scheme.
If you’re looking for more help or advice on getting help with the cost of living, you can read our free cost of living guide here.
Need help with something else? Our friendly, expert team are on-hand and happy to answer any questions you have. Get in touch with us today.
