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From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of five will be entitled to 30 hours of government funded childcare a week.

Currently, 15 hours of government-funded childcare is available for all children from the age of 9 months, with 30 hours of government-funded childcare available for children aged 3 to 4, if parents are working.

What are funded childcare hours?

Funded childcare hours are government-subsidised hours of childcare for parents of young children.

They’re available to be used in registered childcare settings. The UK government provides these hours to support families by providing their children with early years education in a structured environment.

How do I qualify for funded childcare hours?

To qualify, you need to be working or starting a new job, on sick or annual leave, or on shared parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave. The amount you earn must be at or more than the value of the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average.

You don’t qualify if your adjusted net income is over £100,000 a year. Adjusted net income is your total taxable income before any Personal Allowances and less certain tax reliefs such as, trading losses, donations to charities through Gift Aid and pension contributions.

If you’ve been self-employed for less than 12 months and you earn less, you may still qualify. Income that doesn’t count includes dividends, interest, income from property investments or pension payments.

You apply via the Government website to receive your childcare code, which you need to give to your registered provider. Once your account is set up and the code is active, you need to reconfirm your eligibility every three months.

What other financial support is available for parents?

  • Tax free childcare – You can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to be used to help with the cost of registered childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year). It can be used in addition to funded childcare hours.
  • Child Benefit – You can receive Child Benefit if you are responsible for raising children under the age of 16, or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training. From April 2025, the rates will be increasing to:
    • First or eldest child: £25.60 a week to £26.05 a week
    • Any additional child: £16.95 a week to £17.25 a week

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