If you live in England and both you and your partner work, you can now get 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week for every child from 9 months old until they start school — worth up to around £7,500 a year per child. This is the settled 2026 picture after the big September 2025 expansion, which extended the full 30 hours down to 9-month-olds. To qualify, each parent must earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income. The catch: the “30 hours” means 38 weeks a year (term time), so it stretches to roughly 22 hours if spread across all 52 weeks — and it does not cover meals, nappies or extras.
What working parents in England actually get in 2026
For years the headline “30 hours” only applied to three- and four-year-olds. That changed in stages, and the final piece landed in September 2025, when the full 30 funded hours were extended to eligible working families with children as young as 9 months. So as things stand in 2026, if you meet the work and income tests, your child can access 30 funded hours a week from 9 months old right up until they reach school age.
It is worth being clear about what “funded” means. The government pays your childcare provider an hourly rate for those hours; you do not hand over cash for the funded time itself. But funded is not the same as completely free, because providers can still charge for the things the funding was never meant to cover — more on that below. The scheme is England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own, quite different systems, so if you are outside England the rules and hours will not match what you read here.
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The age bands and hours at a glance
There are really two overlapping schemes: a universal offer that almost every family gets, and the larger working-parent offer that depends on your income. Here is how they line up in the 2026/27 year:
| Child’s age | Who qualifies | Funded hours a week* |
|---|---|---|
| 9 months – 2 years | Eligible working parents only | 30 hours |
| 2 years | Families on certain benefits | 15 hours |
| 2 years | Eligible working parents | 30 hours |
| 3 – 4 years | All families (universal) | 15 hours |
| 3 – 4 years | Eligible working parents | 30 hours |
The single most misunderstood point is the 38-week rule. The 30 hours is calculated over term time only — 38 weeks — not the full year. Many nurseries offer to “stretch” your entitlement across all 52 weeks so you keep a place through the holidays, but the total number of funded hours stays the same. Spread 30 term-time hours over 52 weeks and it works out at roughly 22 hours a week. Anything you use above your stretched allowance is charged at the provider’s normal rate.
Are you eligible? The work and income tests
Eligibility for the 30-hour working-parent offer rests on two tests that each parent has to pass (or the sole parent, if you are a single-parent household). First, the earnings floor: over the coming three months you each need to expect to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum or Living Wage. With the National Living Wage at £12.71 an hour from April 2026, that is roughly £203 a week, or about £2,650 over three months, for anyone aged 21 or over. You can count as employed, self-employed or on parental, sick or annual leave.
Second, the income ceiling: neither of you can have an adjusted net income of more than £100,000 a year. Crucially this is an individual test, not a household one — if one of you earns £99,000 and the other £40,000 you still qualify, but if one of you tips over £100,000, the whole family loses the funded hours. Because the cliff-edge is so sharp, some higher earners use pension contributions or salary sacrifice to bring their adjusted net income back under the line. That same £100,000 threshold interacts with other tax traps too, which is why it pays to look at your whole position rather than one benefit in isolation.
The catch: what the funding does not cover
“Free” childcare rarely means you pay nothing. The government funds the hours, but providers are allowed to charge for a list of extras the funding was never designed to cover. Expect to be asked to pay for:
- Meals and snacks — often a fixed daily food charge.
- Nappies, wipes and sun cream — sometimes bundled as a “consumables” fee.
- Trips, outings and special activities such as visiting entertainers.
- Any hours above your funded allowance, charged at the normal rate.
These top-up or consumables charges are legitimate, but they are not supposed to be a condition of getting your funded place, and you should be offered an alternative — for instance, bringing your own packed lunch and nappies instead of paying the fee. Two more real-world catches: not every nursery or childminder offers funded places, and some cap how many funded hours you can use in a single day or session. Always ask a prospective provider for their fee schedule in writing so you can see the true monthly cost, not just the “free” headline.
How to apply and keep your place
You apply through the government’s official childcare service on GOV.UK by setting up a childcare account. If you are eligible you are given an 11-digit code, which you hand to your provider along with your National Insurance number and child’s date of birth. Timing matters: you can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old, and there are termly deadlines — broadly, apply by 31 August for a September start, 31 December for January, and 31 March for April. Miss the window and you usually wait until the next term.
The step people most often trip over is reconfirmation. You must sign back into your childcare account and confirm your details are still correct every three months. Forget, and your code can lapse — potentially leaving you liable for the full fees until it is reinstated. Set a recurring phone reminder the day your account tells you reconfirmation is due.
How it fits with Tax-Free Childcare and other support
The funded hours can be combined with Tax-Free Childcare, which tops up your own payments by 20% (the government adds £2 for every £8 you pay in, up to £500 every three months per child). Many working families use the 30 funded hours for the core weekly place and Tax-Free Childcare to soften the cost of any extra hours, holiday cover or the consumables fees above. What you cannot do is claim Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as the childcare element of Universal Credit or old-style childcare vouchers — you have to choose. For lower-income families, the Universal Credit childcare element can refund up to 85% of costs and may work out better, so it is worth modelling both.
Because your take-home pay and that £100,000 line decide whether you qualify at all, it helps to see your real numbers first. Our guide to Tax-Free Childcare in the UK for 2026 walks through the top-up in detail, and if you are anywhere near the threshold, our explainer on the High Income Child Benefit Charge for 2026 shows how the same £100,000-adjacent traps stack up. To check where your own adjusted net income actually lands — and whether a pension top-up could keep you under £100,000 — run the figures through our free take-home pay calculator before you apply.
What changed in September 2026
The big entitlement expansion is already done — September 2025 completed the roll-out to 9-month-olds, so 2026 is about capacity rather than new hours. The main change from September 2026 is the next phase of the government’s school-based nursery programme: a further £45 million to create or expand around 300 nurseries attached to primary schools, delivering up to 7,000 additional places, with grants of up to £150,000 per school and priority for disadvantaged areas. It does not change what you are entitled to, but it should make funded places easier to find in areas where nurseries have been full. Funding rates paid to providers are also reviewed each year, which feeds through to how many providers can afford to offer places — so availability, not the size of the offer, is the story to watch in 2026/27.
Smart moves to get the most from your funded hours
- Apply early — get your code before the termly deadline so you do not lose a whole term of funding.
- Ask for the full fee schedule in writing, including food and consumables charges, before you accept a place.
- Decide term-time vs stretched up front — stretching keeps a year-round place but cuts your weekly funded hours to about 22.
- Diarise reconfirmation every three months so your code never lapses.
- Model Tax-Free Childcare against the Universal Credit childcare element — you can only use one, and the better option depends on your income.
- Watch the £100,000 line — a pension contribution can sometimes keep you eligible for the whole offer.
Make your family budget work harder
For more UK money-saving guides, visit GetSmartSaver.
Explore GetSmartSaver →Childcare is only one line in a busy family budget. If the funded hours free up some cash each month, it can be worth funnelling a little of it into longer-term savings — our roundup of the best Junior ISAs in the UK for 2026 is a sensible place to start once the nursery bills settle down.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can get 30 hours free childcare in 2026?
Eligible working parents in England with a child aged 9 months up to school age. Each parent (or the sole parent) must expect to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage and have an adjusted net income under £100,000 a year. The offer is England only; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run different schemes.
Is it really 30 hours every week?
The 30 hours is based on 38 weeks a year — term time. Many providers let you “stretch” the same yearly total over all 52 weeks, which works out at about 22 hours a week. The number of funded hours across the year is the same either way; stretching just spreads them more thinly so you keep a place in the holidays.
What does the free childcare not cover?
The funding pays for the hours only. Providers can still charge for meals, nappies, sun cream, trips and other consumables, and for any hours above your funded allowance. These charges should not be a condition of the funded place, and you should be offered an alternative, such as supplying your own food and nappies.
How do I apply and get my code?
Set up a childcare account on GOV.UK from when your child is 23 weeks old. If eligible you get an 11-digit code to give your provider, along with your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth. Apply by 31 August for a September start, 31 December for January, or 31 March for April, and reconfirm your details every three months to keep the code active.
Can I use Tax-Free Childcare as well?
Yes. You can combine the 30 funded hours with Tax-Free Childcare, which adds 20% to what you pay (up to £500 every three months per child) — useful for extra hours or consumables fees. You cannot use Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as the Universal Credit childcare element or childcare vouchers; you have to pick one.
What is changing in September 2026?
The entitlement itself is not expanding — the roll-out to 9-month-olds finished in September 2025. September 2026 brings the next phase of the school-based nursery programme: around £45 million to create or expand roughly 300 school nurseries and up to 7,000 places, aimed at making funded places easier to find, especially in disadvantaged areas.
Last reviewed: July 2026. This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Childcare rules, earnings thresholds and deadlines can change — always check the official guidance at GOV.UK and childcarechoices.gov.uk, and confirm details with your chosen provider before you commit.
