Employee

The Qualifying Conditions

The qualifying conditions for eligibility in the scheme are as follows:

  • The child must be either (a) your own, (b) a stepchild or (c) a child who lives with you and for whom you have parental responsibility
  • A child qualifies up to 1st September following their 15th birthday or 1st September following their 16th birthday if he or she is disabled
  • You can only use the childcare vouchers to pay for childcare that has been registered or approved. Childcare provided away from the child’s home can include registered childminders, nurseries, play schemes and out-of-hours clubs on school premises. Childcare provided in the child’s home will not qualify if the person approved to give that childcare is a relative of the child. Relative includes a parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister (whether by blood, half-blood, marriage or affinity), step-parents, civil partners and foster parents.

The exemption does not extend to:

  • Cash payments to an employee to help with their childcare costs.
  • Paying an employee’s childcare bills on their behalf.
  • Payment of school fees.
  • The provision of childcare or childcare vouchers if the qualifying conditions are not met.

Important points to note

  1. The tax and NIC exemption is per parent, not per child. The exempt amount remains the same irrespective of the number of children receiving childcare.
  2. Your partner is eligible for the tax and NIC exemption as well as yourself, i.e. you can both receive childcare vouchers.
  3. You are responsible for paying your carer directly for any payments due over and above the value of the Childcare Vouchers taken.