According to the latest data, 512,415 families used Tax-Free Childcare in the last tax year, up from 374,135 the year prior, however this is less than half of the number of families eligible. Recent HMRC research estimated that 1.3 million families could be eligible for the scheme.
As previously reported by Nursery World, the low take-up of the scheme has resulted in an underspend of billions of pounds and is despite numerous attempts by the Government to promote Tax-Free Childcare.
The scheme, which allows working parents to claim back £2,000 a year on childcare costs, is open to families where parents each earn a minimum of the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum wage and less than £100,000 a year.
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