Tax-free childcare

Two sets of childcare regulations have been issued:

• The Childcare Payments (Eligibility) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations, SI 2016/1021, make technical changes to the eligibility requirements for ‘tax-free childcare’ to: simplify the way minimum income for eligibility is calculated; clarify rules for self-employed parents to ensure start-up periods work as intended; and require applicants and their partners to ‘hold’, rather than ‘provide’, a National Insurance number to apply for the scheme. They also clarify the rules around using a combination of employed and self-employed income to meet the minimum income threshold. The regulations come into force on 14 November 2016.
• The Childcare Payments (Amendment No. 2) Regulations, SI 2016/1017, correct an error in the principal regulations for the ‘tax-free childcare’ scheme, which inadvertently made the period for reconfirmation of a declaration of eligibility longer than the intended period of 28 days before the entitlement period begins. The regulations come into force on 14 November 2016.