More than 190,000 parents have successfully applied and now have a Tax-Free Childcare account they can use to pay for a wide range of regulated childcare, including nurseries, childminders, after school or holiday clubs. Parents in England can also apply for 30 hours free childcare through the service and more than 340,000 families have successfully dome so.
CIPP comment Parents will not be able to simultaneously receive support from both Employer-Supported Childcare (ESC) and TFC.
Parents who wish to remain in ESC will be able to, while their current employer continues to offer the voucher scheme. There is no obligation to switch to TFC; however existing voucher schemes will be closed to new applicants from April 2018.
And, as highlighted in the latest Employer Bulletin :
“ Tax-Free Childcare will eventually replace the existing ‘childcare voucher’ scheme; parents can still join an Employer- Supported Childcare scheme as long as they receive a childcare voucher before 5 April 2018. Parents who want to continue using childcare vouchers after April 2018 will be able to, whilst their current employer continues to offer the voucher scheme.
Parents can use the online childcare calculator on GOV.UK or by visiting the Childcare Choices website to weigh up which offer is best for them.
For more information about Tax-Free Childcare and how it interacts with Employer-Supported Childcare, see HMRC’s online guidance .”
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Tax-Free Childcare 2 March 2018
Tax free childcare (TFC) is now rolled out to all eligible families and all parents whose youngest child is under 12 can now apply. However the milestones keep coming and to help employers and employees HMRC have published a number of updates to assist.
Closure of childcare voucher schemes to new entrants
Childcare vouchers schemes provided by the Employer are closing to new entrants from 6 April 2018. Parents who want to access their employer scheme will need to have received a voucher in the 52 weeks before 5 April 2018. HMRC have provided updated guidance about the closure of vouchers on the GOV.UK website. HMRC have published guidance to help parents to understand and work out what might be the best option for them.
30 hours summer term (In England only)
The deadline for parents to apply or reconfirm their eligibility for 30 hours free childcare for the summer term is 31 March 2018. As with previous terms, HMRC recommend that parents apply early.
Payment timelines
Some providers have raised concerns about the time it takes for payments to clear through childcare accounts and reach providers.
It takes 1 working day for payments to clear into a parent’s childcare account. Payments made after 6pm (or 9pm for debit cards) will take 2 working days to clear.
Payments from parent’s childcare accounts to their childcare providers are made via the BACs system, these payments take 3 working days to clear into provider’s bank accounts.
If a parent does not have sufficient cleared funds in their childcare account then the payment to their provider will fail. HMRC have been writing to parents to tell them about these timelines and are also adding new functionality to parent’s childcare accounts to make it clearer as to what funds have been cleared.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Policy News Journal
cipp.org.uk
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