Your childcare account

Your childcare account is where the scheme happens. It is an online account for one child, run by the Childcare Service. You pay money in, the government adds its top-up, and you pay your provider out. There is nothing to install and no card to carry: everything is done by signing in to your account on GOV.UK.

Paying money in

You can pay into the account by Direct Debit, standing order, or bank transfer. Your payment usually appears in the account within one working day, and the government's top-up is added at the same time. Many parents set up a regular payment that matches their provider's billing pattern, so the account is funded before the bill arrives rather than after. You can pay in more than your bill if you wish — for example, building up a balance ahead of a termly invoice — but remember the quarterly cap: paying in a large amount does not create top-up beyond £500 per child per quarter (£1,000 if disabled). Money in the account stays there until you use it to pay a provider.

Paying your provider

To pay a provider, they must be signed up to the scheme and added to your account. You search for them inside the account by name, town, or postcode, and link them. If they are not signed up, you can send them a nudge notification from the account asking them to join — most nurseries, schools, and registered childminders are already signed up, but it is worth checking before you apply, not after. Once linked, you send payments to the provider directly from the account, in whatever pattern suits your billing: monthly, termly, or as each invoice arrives. You can also pay for extras supplied by the provider, such as meals, nappies, and trips, from the same account.

Reconfirming every three months

To keep receiving top-ups, you must sign in to your childcare account every three months and confirm your details are up to date. HMRC sends a reminder, and reconfirming takes a few minutes. When you sign in, you can also pay money into your account, pay your provider, and apply for Tax-Free Childcare for an additional child. If you do not reconfirm, your Tax-Free Childcare stops: no further top-up is added until you complete the reconfirmation. This is the most common avoidable cause of lost top-ups, and it is entirely a diary problem — set a recurring reminder for the week your reconfirmation falls due, and treat it like a bill payment.

If something goes wrong with the account

If you cannot sign in, contact the Childcare Service helpline rather than creating a second account: duplicate accounts for the same child cause confusion and delay. If you have been unable to use the service because of technical problems with the childcare service itself, you may be able to claim compensation — GOV.UK explains the route, and you will need to show that the technical problem, not a missed reconfirmation, was the cause. If your circumstances change — a new job, a new partner, a change of provider, a child leaving childcare — update your account promptly, because your entitlement is assessed on your current circumstances at each reconfirmation, and out-of-date details can lead to top-ups being paid that later have to be repaid.

Sources: GOV.UK, Tax-Free Childcare (how it works, sign in to confirm details, and frequently asked questions); Best Start in Life, How Tax-Free Childcare works.