Childminder Tax UK 2026/27: Household Costs, Simplified Expenses and a Worked Example
Registered childminders working from home can use HMRC's simplified flat-rate expenses for food and household costs. Full worked example on £24,000 turnover and what you can and can't claim.
Why childminders get their own expense rules
Registered childminders work from home, which means a large chunk of their running costs — heating, water, part of the mortgage interest or rent, council tax, insurance — is shared between their own family life and their business. Rather than force every childminder to calculate an exact business-use percentage of the home, HMRC publishes specific flat rates for registered childminders, scaled to the number of children cared for and the hours worked, as a simplified alternative. This sits alongside the standard deductible costs of the trade: food, toys, outings, equipment and training.
Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Calculate income tax, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance for self-employed and sole traders for 2025/26.
Open Self-Employed Tax calculatorWorked example: £24,000 turnover
Turnover (fees from parents across the year): £24,000
Deductible expenses:
- Food and drink for minded children: £2,600
- Toys, books, craft and outdoor equipment: £900
- Outings (soft play, days out, activities): £700
- Household running costs (HMRC childminder flat-rate proportion): £2,800
- Public liability insurance: £220
- Ofsted/agency registration fee and DBS check: £180
- First aid and safeguarding training renewal: £150
- Total expenses: £7,550
Taxable profit: £24,000 − £7,550 = £16,450
Income tax: (£16,450 − £12,570) × 20% = £3,880 × 20% = £776
Class 4 NI: (£16,450 − £12,570) × 6% = £3,880 × 6% = £233
Total tax and NI: £1,009
Take-home: £24,000 − £7,550 − £1,009 = £15,441
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Calculate your net salary after income tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions.
Open Take-Home Pay calculatorThe childminder household flat rate, in principle
Rather than working out an exact fraction of household bills based on rooms used and hours worked (which is fiddly and hard to defend precisely), HMRC's childminder-specific flat rates let you apply a set proportion based on the number of children you mind and the hours of childminding, covering heating, water, council tax and a share of rent or mortgage interest. This is optional — you can still calculate an exact business-use percentage if you prefer and it produces a bigger deduction — but most childminders find the flat rate simpler and defensible without detailed bill-splitting.
What counts, and what doesn't
Deductible:
- Food and drink for minded children (not your own family's meals)
- Toys, books, craft materials, outdoor play equipment used in childminding
- Outings and activities for minded children
- Household running costs (via the childminder flat rate or an exact calculation)
- Public liability insurance
- Registration/renewal fees, DBS checks, mandatory training
Not deductible:
- Your own family's food shop, toys or household spending
- The capital cost of your home itself (though a proportion of running costs is claimable)
- Childcare for your own children while you work (a common but genuine trap)
Filing and paying
Register for Self Assessment once income exceeds £1,000, keep receipts and a simple log of hours/children minded to support the household flat-rate claim, and file online by 31 January following the tax year end, paying any income tax and Class 4 NI owed on your profit.
uk-childminder-nanny-tax-guide-2026Frequently asked questions
Do registered childminders pay tax on all the money parents pay them?
Yes, fees received from parents are turnover, but a registered childminder can deduct a wide range of running costs — food, toys, outings, household running costs (using HMRC's specific childminder flat rates), insurance and training — before arriving at taxable profit, which is often much lower than gross fee income.
What are the HMRC flat rates for childminders' household expenses?
HMRC publishes specific simplified flat rates for registered childminders covering the business-use proportion of household running costs (heating, water, council tax, rent/mortgage interest, insurance) based on the number of children cared for and hours worked, as an alternative to calculating an exact business-use percentage of the home. These rates are set out in HMRC's childminder guidance and are separate from the general simplified-expenses flat rates used by other home-based traders.
Can a childminder claim food costs for the children they look after?
Yes — food and drink provided to minded children as part of the childminding service is a deductible business expense, distinct from the childminder's own family food shop, which isn't deductible.
How much tax does a childminder pay on £24,000 turnover?
After typical expenses (food, toys, outings, household flat-rate proportion, insurance, training) of roughly £8,000-£9,000, taxable profit lands around £15,500-£16,000, giving combined income tax and Class 4 NI of approximately £780-£880.
Do childminders need to register for VAT?
Very rarely — the £90,000 VAT registration threshold is far above typical childminding turnover, so most registered childminders never need to consider VAT registration.
Try the calculators
Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Calculate income tax, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance for self-employed and sole traders for 2025/26.
Take-Home Pay Calculator
Calculate your net salary after income tax, National Insurance and student loan deductions.
Childcare Cost Calculator
Estimate your childcare costs and see how much you can save with free hours entitlement and Tax-Free Childcare.
Related reading
UK Self Assessment From Scratch — Part 8: After You File
What happens after you submit your Self Assessment return — refunds, balancing payments, amendments, HMRC enquiries, the SA302 for mortgages, and the 5-year record-keeping rule
UK Self Assessment From Scratch — Part 7: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA) starts April 2026 for £50k+ self-employed and landlords. Here's what it means, when it applies to you, the software requirements and how it changes Self Assessment forever.
UK Self Assessment From Scratch — Part 6: Payments on Account Explained
How HMRC's payments-on-account system works, why your first January bill is bigger than expected, when to reduce them, and the trap of treating January and July as separate