Tax-Free Childcare stops on the 1 September after your child turns 11, or the 1 September after they turn 16 if they have a qualifying disability. That is the headline answer to when Tax-Free Childcare stops, but the age limit is only one of several triggers. The government top-up also ends if your earnings fall below the minimum threshold, if either parent’s adjusted net income goes above £100,000, if you miss a quarterly reconfirmation, or if you move onto Universal Credit or tax credits.1GOV.UK. Tax-Free Childcare
The Age Cut-Off
For most children, support ends on 1 September following the 11th birthday. The date lines up with the school year, so families typically keep the benefit through the end of primary school and lose it when secondary school starts.2GOV.UK. Back to School? HMRC Can Help With Childcare Costs A child born in September gets almost a full extra year of eligibility compared to one born in August, because both hit the same 1 September deadline.
For a child with a qualifying disability, the cut-off is pushed back to 1 September after their 16th birthday, and the annual top-up doubles from £2,000 to £4,000. Qualifying conditions include receiving Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Child Disability Payment, an armed forces independence payment, or being certified as severely sight impaired or blind.2GOV.UK. Back to School? HMRC Can Help With Childcare Costs
Once your child passes the age threshold, no more top-ups are added. Money you paid in yourself can still be withdrawn, and any government contributions already in the account can still be used to pay a registered provider.
When Earnings Push You Out
Falling Below the Minimum
You and your partner must each expect to earn at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average. For someone aged 21 or over, that comes to roughly £2,644 over three months.3GOV.UK. Tax-Free Childcare – Check if You’re Eligible If either of you drops below that floor, top-ups stop. You keep access to whatever is already in the account.
Some kinds of leave still count as meeting the earnings test: maternity, paternity, shared parental, adoption, statutory neonatal care pay, bereaved partner’s paternity leave, plus ordinary sick leave and annual leave.3GOV.UK. Tax-Free Childcare – Check if You’re Eligible
Earning Over £100,000
If either parent has an adjusted net income above £100,000 in the current tax year, eligibility ends entirely, even if the other parent earns nothing.2GOV.UK. Back to School? HMRC Can Help With Childcare Costs Adjusted net income counts worldwide earnings, so overseas income sits inside the cap. A modest pay rise or a one-off bonus can knock a household out for the rest of the tax year.
Recently Self-Employed
New self-employed parents get a 12-month grace period covering the first eligibility declaration and the next three quarterly reconfirmations. During that window the minimum earnings rule is waived. After 12 months, your self-employed earnings need to hit the threshold like anyone else’s.4GOV.UK. Self-Employed Person – Start-Up Periods
Missing a Reconfirmation
Every three months you have to log into your childcare account and confirm your details are still accurate, even if nothing has changed. Miss the deadline and top-ups stop straight away.1GOV.UK. Tax-Free Childcare This is a common way families lose the benefit without meaning to.
HMRC usually sends a text or email reminder about four weeks before the reconfirmation date, so keep your contact details current. If you do miss the window, the account is not closed. It drops to personal-pay-only status until you log in and submit a fresh declaration, and top-ups then resume for the next three-month cycle.5GOV.UK. Sign in to Your Childcare Account
Claiming Universal Credit or Tax Credits
You cannot hold Tax-Free Childcare alongside Universal Credit. Starting a Universal Credit claim ends your top-ups, and moving in the other direction means closing your Universal Credit claim first. The two schemes are mutually exclusive, so the decision is worth working through carefully: the Universal Credit childcare element can cover up to 85% of eligible costs, which often beats the 20% Tax-Free Childcare top-up for lower-income households.
The same either-or rule applies to Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. If you already receive tax credits, compare the numbers before switching, because leaving tax credits is usually a one-way move.
Other Changes That End Support
If your child stops living with you or moves into local authority care, the account loses eligible status. You are also expected to report changes such as starting or stopping work, a partner moving in or out, and changes to your immigration status through your childcare account. Failing to report a relevant change can mean paying back top-ups you were not entitled to.
What Happens to the Money
When eligibility ends, the government does not take back what is already in the account. Your own deposits can be withdrawn at any time. Top-ups already credited can still pay a registered childcare provider but cannot be withdrawn as cash.
If eligibility ends temporarily, whether from a missed reconfirmation or a short dip in earnings, you can reapply once you qualify again. Decisions usually arrive straight away, though they can take up to seven days. The account itself stays open, so you are not starting from scratch.6GOV.UK. Apply for Tax-Free Childcare