Until very recently, I used to log in to my (kids’) tax-free childcare (TFC) accounts every few days to check if the government top-up reset. I wanted to get the free £500 (per kid) as soon as possible.
Quick note: If you have no idea what “tax-free childcare” is please go to this post:
Tax-Free Childcare: Free £2,000 a year from the government – Lazy Fi Dad
It can save you £2,000 per year per child (with very little work)!
This blog is about parenting and personal finance but the word “Lazy” is in the name to reduce unnecessary work. Is logging in every few days really the best (and most efficient) way to check if the government top-up reset? Of course not (otherwise this would be a really stupid post).
I ended up calling HMRC. As usual, they were very helpful (zero sarcasm here). Let me share with you what I learned:
How to find out when the government top-up reset
- Sign it to your account here:
Sign in to your childcare account – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) - After entering your details, you should see this screen in the main menu:
3. Look (but don’t click) at the reconfirmation area (see in red in the screenshot above). Your government top-up resets a day after the deadline. For me, based on this screenshot, it will Reset on 19 November.
4. It is important to note that once you reconfirm your details (I can do that from 22 October based on the screenshot above), the dates shown on the main menu will change so you’ll need to set a reminder before reconfirming.
5. All your government top-ups reset (for all your kids) on the same date! That was a big surprise for me.
It doesn’t matter when they were born, it’s your account (not your kids’) and that’s why there’s one government top-up reset date that applied to all your kids.
6. Go relax, no more refreshing that page every few days.
I set a reminder for 19 November.
