As millions of children go back to school this autumn, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding families in Teignbridge to not miss out on up to £2,000 a year towards their child’s wraparound care.

Tax-Free Childcare puts money back in the pockets of working families by providing financial support towards the cost of childcare for children aged 11 or under, or up to 17 if the child has a disability.

For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 in government top-up.

Families receive up to £500 every three months (£2,000 a year) per child, or £1,000 (£4,000 a year) if their child is disabled, helping towards the cost of before and after-school clubs, childminders and nurseries, holiday clubs and other approved childcare schemes.

In June 2022, more than 37,000 working families in the South West benefitted from Tax-Free Childcare – but thousands more could be missing out. Overall in June, HMRC paid out £41.6 million in top-up payments, which was shared between approximately 391,000 families across the UK.

Families can find out what childcare support is best for them via Childcare Choices at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services, said: ‘Tax-Free Childcare can make a big difference to families in the South West, helping with the bills for things like wraparound care for school children, nurseries, childminders and holiday clubs. It’s easy to register – search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.’