Free childcare in England in 2026: 30 hours from nine months, the income tests and the 31 December deadline

Childcare is one of the biggest costs a young family in England faces, and the state covers part or all of it. But there are three separate schemes, they do not stack automatically, and each has its own income test and its own dates. The one thing to know right now: to have funded hours start on 1 January, you must apply by 31 December. Miss it by a day and the next entry point is 1 April.

Everything below applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run different schemes with different hours.

Three schemes people confuse

30 hours for working parents. Children from 9 months to school age. You apply, get a code and reconfirm it every three months.

15 hours for two-year-olds in families who need extra support. This also covers families with no recourse to public funds — see the separate section below.

15 hours for every three- and four-year-old. 570 hours a year, with no test of income, work or immigration status. No application is needed: you show the birth certificate and sign a declaration at the provider.

The government puts the saving from the extended offer at up to £7,500 a year per child.

What the 30 hours actually give you

30 hours a week over 38 weeks a year — 1,140 hours. You can stretch them: fewer hours a week across all 52 weeks, if your provider agrees. The hours run from the term starting after the child turns 9 months until they start school.

For two-year-olds entitled to the 15 support hours, the second 15 come from the working-parent scheme — the same 30 in total.

How much you have to earn

Each parent (or the sole parent) must expect to earn, over the next three months, at least:

— £2,643.68 if you are 21 or over. That is £203.36 a week;
— £2,256.80 if you are 18 to 20 (£173.60 a week);
— £1,664 if you are under 18 or an apprentice (£128 a week).

In effect this is 16 hours a week at the National Minimum or Living Wage. The test looks forward, not back: if your income moves around, what matters is the forecast for the quarter.

There is a concession for the self-employed: if your business is less than 12 months old, the earnings threshold does not apply.

The £100,000 ceiling

You are not eligible if you or your partner expect an adjusted net income above £100,000 for the current tax year. A detail people miss: foreign income counts. The threshold applies per parent, not per household — £99,000 and £99,000 is fine, £101,000 and £20,000 is not.

If your partner does not work

You may still qualify if your partner receives any of: Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer's Allowance, the limited capability for work element of Universal Credit, the carer element of Universal Credit, contribution-based ESA or National Insurance credits.

National Insurance number and status: the real filter

You and your partner both need a National Insurance number. On top of that, the person who applies must have at least one of:

— British or Irish citizenship;
— settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or an application awaiting a decision;
— permission to access public funds.

That last point is where most applications fall down. Most work, study and family visas carry a no recourse to public funds condition — check your eVisa or BRP. If it is there, you cannot claim the 30 hours. In a couple where one parent is British, Irish or holds EUSS status, that parent is the one who applies — but the earnings test still applies to both of you.

15 hours for two-year-olds when the family has no recourse to public funds

This is the door many families do not know exists. A separate route allows 15 hours a week for a two-year-old where the parent (or both parents in a two-parent household) is subject to NRPF. Household income after tax over a year must be no more than:

— £26,500 — one child, outside London;
— £30,600 — two or more children, outside London;
— £34,500 — one child, in London (the 32 boroughs plus the City);
— £38,600 — two or more children, in London.

Savings and investments must also be no more than £16,000. Families on section 95, section 98 or section 4 asylum support qualify automatically with no income check. You apply through your council, not through the HMRC portal — look for "funded childcare for 2 year olds" or "NRPF" on the council website.

Separately, the 15 hours for two-year-olds are open to families on Universal Credit with income up to £15,400 a year after tax, and to children with an EHCP.

When to apply: the dates

You can apply from the point your child is 23 weeks old. After that everything hangs on the date they turn nine months:

— nine months falls between 1 September and 31 December → hours from 1 January, apply by 31 December;
— between 1 January and 31 March → hours from 1 April, apply by 31 March;
— between 1 April and 31 August → hours from 1 September, apply by 31 August.

If you are returning from parental leave or starting a new job, the clock runs from that date instead: return between 1 October and 31 January for hours from 1 January, between 1 February and 30 April for 1 April, between 1 May and 30 September for 1 September. On shared parental leave both parents must return to work, or commit to returning, within a month of the relevant term start.

For the universal 15 hours the logic is simpler: they start the term after the third birthday — 1 January, 1 April or 1 September.

The 11-digit code and reconfirming every three months

Once approved you get an 11-digit code, which you hand to the nursery or childminder along with your National Insurance number and the child's date of birth. Every three months you must sign in to your childcare account and confirm nothing has changed. If you do not, the funding stops and the nursery invoices you in full. This is the single most common way families lose their hours.

Always check the exact start date with your provider: nurseries work to their own terms, not the calendar.

What you still pay for

Funded hours cover care and early education only. Meals, nappies, trips and extra activities are charged separately, as are any hours beyond the entitlement. The provider must offer an alternative — letting you bring food from home, for example. If a nursery refuses and makes the charges compulsory, complain to your local council.

Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit

Tax-Free Childcare sits on top of the funded hours: for every £8 you pay into the account, the government adds £2. The cap is £2,000 a year per child (£4,000 for a disabled child), for children up to 11 (16 if disabled). You reconfirm every three months here too. The account can pay for meals and trips that the funded hours exclude.

You cannot combine Tax-Free Childcare with Universal Credit, Tax Credits or old-style childcare vouchers — it is one or the other.

On Universal Credit you can claim back up to 85% of childcare costs: from 6 April 2026 the monthly maximum is £1,071.09 for one child and £1,836.16 for two or more. The money comes after the event, and you must report the cost in the assessment period you paid it or the one after — later than that and it will not be paid. If you cannot cover the first bill, you can ask for help with the upfront cost when starting work or increasing your hours.

What to do now

Check your eVisa for a no recourse to public funds condition — that decides which of the three schemes is yours. Work out your expected earnings for the next three months and compare them with the threshold for your age. Run your situation through the GOV.UK childcare calculator, which compares the schemes side by side. And if your child turns nine months this autumn, put 31 December in the calendar: it is a hard deadline, and after it the next way in is April.