Tax free childcare account - how much?

My nursery told me to do the exact amount they bill on a standing order monthly. You won’t get any more than what the nursery or your provider take in terms of the 20% rebate.

So I asked my sister cos she already does it / she said even if you put in the full invoice amount the gov will add 20% and if it’s not used it just stays there so you can use the 20% to add to next months if that makes sense?

Whatever my bill is for the month, I round up to the nearest 100 and put that in. The 20% gets added on after it’s in and then once I’ve paid, I leave the leftover there and top up the next month. That was there’s always a bit extra in there just in case. 😊

I put in 80% of my invoice and they top up the rest to pay the bill :)

80% of the bill I get

So you actually get 500 quid every 3 month period. So if you paid in 2000 at the start of a 3 month period you'd get topped up 500. Your balance would then be 2500. That money sits on your gov account until you spend it. I mean most childcare bills are so big you tend to still get your 500 a quarter even if you top up monthly.

@Mou but doesn’t it have to be used towards childcare? My childcare is £880 every 3 months. Feels a bit of an abuse of the system to put £2k in to get an extra £224 I don’t rightfully deserve. Also wouldn’t it just accrue as you can’t withdraw so either way you’d only end up getting 20% back of your annual bill?

@Olivia yes you only withdraw what you paid in for sure. I think it's more for those who have varying bills, like a childminder, if you wanna consider their unpaid holiday, or if you pay term time only. You get 2k a year allowance but 500 a quarter. My bills are so gross there is no matter anyhow, that 500 gone in a second.

@Mou 😫 sorry to hear that. They don’t make it easy for working mums do they…

@Olivia absolutely, I've got 3 in full time and it's eye-watering