One Martin Lewis fan has shared exactly how she saved £1,200 a year on childcare, simply by following the financial buff's tricks of the trade.
The mother called Kiran, penned an email to the Money Saving Expert (MSE) website after resting her eyes on information with regards to the tax-free childcare scheme in Martin's weekly newsletter.
The scheme offers parents up to £2,000 each year per child towards the cost of care, including nursery, babysitting and wraparound services.
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The Mirror reports that it's a Government-backed plot, designed so that for every 80p you put into your tax-free childcare account, the state will add 20p. You can access up to £500 tax-free every three months - up to £2,000 each year - for each child to help cover the cost of childcare, but this rises to £1,000 every three months (up to £4,000 per year should your child be classed as disabled.
However, according to MSE, around 800,000 families of the over one million eligible aren't currently thought to be using the scheme.
Kiran, who sent her email back in October, said that she had 'no idea' about the Government fund before Martin highlighted it, but has since made substantial savings. In her email, she wrote: "I had no idea about the tax-free childcare scheme until I received an email highlighting I could pay for after-school care through its website and save 20per cent.
"Thanks to Martin and his team, I now save around £100 a month. I am so grateful. Thank you."
Tax-free childcare is available to parents with children aged 11 years and younger, or to those with disabled children aged 16 and younger, you also need to be in work to qualify but earning less than £100,000 a year. The money can be spent on whatever childcare you prefer as long as it is a registered provider with the scheme, or with a regulated body including Care Inspectorate Wales or Ofsted (England).
To get the help, you will need to create an online childcare account on the Government tax-free childcare site and to sign up you will need to have your National Insurance number or taxpayer reference if you’re self-employed. The MSE website says the process will take you around 20 minutes and in order to carry on with the scheme over the year, you will need to reconfirm you’re still eligible every three months.
But before you apply for tax-free childcare, you should check if you even need to pay for childcare at all. For example, parents of three and four-year-olds can apply for 30 hours free childcare a week.
You can claim tax-free childcare on top of the 30 hours free childcare.
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