30 Hours Free Childcare Eligibility Calculator

From September 2025, all eligible working families in England with children from 9 months old up to school age can access 30 hours a week of government-funded childcare during term time (with some providers offering a stretched, lower weekly hours option across 52 weeks). This built on the earlier 30-hours scheme for 3-4 year olds and the 15-hours scheme extended to younger age groups through 2024-25. Eligibility rests on two income tests that both parents (or the sole parent in a single-parent household) must satisfy independently. First, the minimum income requirement: each parent must expect to earn, on average over the coming 3 months, at least the equivalent of working 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage for their age — for the 21+ National Living Wage of £12.71/hour in 2026/27, this works out to roughly £10,575 a year (16 hours × £12.71 × 52 weeks). This test exists to target working families rather than those not in paid work, though there are easements for parents on maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave, and a "start-up period" grace window for the newly self-employed. Second, the maximum income cap: neither parent can have "adjusted net income" over £100,000 in the current tax year. Adjusted net income is your total taxable income (salary, bonus, rental income, dividends, etc.) minus pension contributions and Gift Aid donations — the same definition used for the Personal Allowance taper and the High Income Child Benefit Charge. This cap applies per parent, not to combined household income: a couple earning £99,000 and £30,000 remains eligible, while a couple with one parent earning £105,000 and the other earning nothing is not, even though the combined household income in the second case is lower. Parents must reconfirm their eligibility every 3 months through the government's Childcare Choices service (the same portal used for Tax-Free Childcare), providing updated income expectations. If your circumstances change — a pay rise pushes you over £100,000, or you become unemployed — you may lose eligibility from the next reconfirmation window, sometimes with a "grace period" allowing you to keep the funded hours for a short transition period while you look for new work.