Universal Credit childcare costs

If you get Universal Credit and you’re working, you can get back up to 85% of your childcare costs, up to a monthly limit. You pay your provider first, then claim the money back.

Updated 1 October 2026

85%of your childcare costs back

£1,071.09a month at most, for 1 child

£1,836.16a month at most, for 2 or more children

Who can get it

You get Universal Credit, or you’re claiming it.
You’re in paid work, or you’ve been offered a job that starts in the next month. There’s no minimum number of hours or earnings.
If you live with a partner, you both need to be working. There are exceptions if your partner can’t look after the children because they have limited capability for work, they care for a severely disabled person and are eligible for Carer’s Allowance, or they’re temporarily away from home, for example in hospital.
Being on maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental or sick leave counts as working while you’re getting pay for it, such as Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Sick Pay.
Your child is under 17: help carries on until 31 August after their 16th birthday.
Your childcare is registered: a nursery, childminder, nanny, or after-school or holiday club registered with Ofsted in England, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, Care Inspectorate Wales, or a Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland. Care from a relative in your own home doesn’t count.

How much you get back

You get 85% of what you pay, up to the monthly limit. The limit for two or more children applies when two or more of your children are in paid childcare.

Example	You pay a month	You get back
1 child at a childminder	£800.00	£680.00
1 child, full-time nursery	£1,400.00	£1,071.09 (the limit)
2 children, both in care	£2,400.00	£1,836.16 (the limit)

The limits start to bite when you spend more than £1,260.11 a month on one child, or £2,160.19 on two or more.

How it fits into your award

The childcare amount is added to the rest of your Universal Credit, and the whole award is then reduced by 55p for every £1 you earn above your work allowance. So the reduction for earnings is the same with or without childcare, and the childcare amount usually comes through in full.

For example, a single parent aged 25 or over with one child, earning £1,500 a month after tax, with no housing costs in their claim, would get about £294 a month of Universal Credit. Paying £800 a month for childcare adds £680, bringing the award to about £974.

Paying and claiming back

Pay your childcare provider.
Report the cost in your Universal Credit account, with proof such as an invoice or receipt.
Do it in the assessment period you paid in, or the one after. If you report it later, you might not get the money back.

If you pay for more than one month in advance, the money is paid back over up to 3 assessment periods, not all at once.

Help paying upfront. If you’re starting a job, you may be able to get your childcare costs for the first month paid before you start. If you’re increasing your hours, you may get the extra costs paid for a month. This can also cover a deposit or a retainer. Ask your work coach through your online journal; you won’t have to pay it back.

Things to know

You can’t get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as Universal Credit. If you’re better off with Tax-Free Childcare, you’d have to stop your Universal Credit claim.
You can use free childcare hours as well. Universal Credit helps with what you pay on top of them.
Report any change in your childcare costs, your hours or your provider straight away.

See your whole Universal Credit award

The calculator works out your Universal Credit with childcare included, and checks free childcare hours and everything else your family could get.

Start the calculator Or get the iPhone app

Official sources

More guides

Benefits: UK Child Benefits is an independent calculator. It is not affiliated with GOV.UK, HMRC or the Department for Work and Pensions. This guide explains the rules in general and may not cover every situation; check GOV.UK or ask your work coach before you rely on it.