Child care tax relief

Increase in tax exemption threshold for child day care

If you're working and pay for child care, this relief increases your total tax exemption threshold. You will either pay no tax if your income is below the exemption or you will pay less tax if you benefit from marginal relief.

Use our tax calculator to see how child care tax relief can reduce the tax you pay.

Tax calculator

You must be making payments to a registered child care provider, for looking after your qualifying child if they are aged 12 or under.

Child care providers include:

• family child carers
• day nurseries, including states-provided nursery schools
• accredited nannies
  

Who can claim

You will receive the increase to your exemption threshold for paying child care if you are entitled to the child allowance exemption and are: 

• a married couple who are both working, each with earnings of more than £7,350
  
• in a civil partnership who are both working, each with earnings of more than £7,350
  
• a married couple where one of the spouses is not working due to severe illness or disability
  
• in a civil partnership and one of the partners is not working due to severe illness or disability  
  
• an independently taxed spouse or civil partner paying for the child care with earnings of more than £5,150
  
• an employed single mother with earnings of more than £5,150
  
• an employed single father with earnings of more than £5,150
  
• a person in a co-habiting relationship paying for the child care with earnings of more than £5,150
  

Amount of increase to exemption thresholds

Standard child care relief  

If your child is aged 12 or under, you can claim up to the standard maximum amount of child care tax relief.

Pre-school child care relief

If your child is under 4 in the year of assessment you can claim up to the higher maximum amount of child care tax relief. If your child has their fourth birthday in the year of assessment between 1 September and 31 December you can also claim up to the higher amount.

Earnings calculation

You have to be working to claim child care tax relief.

If you're single, your earnings must be more than £5,150 before you start getting any relief.

If you're married or in a civil partnership, the relief is calculated on the earnings of the second earner and their earnings must exceed £7,350 before you start getting any relief.

Tax calculation examples with child care tax relief

Example 1: Married or civil partnership, both spouses working with earnings of £30,000 each, child care fees paid £10,000

Example 2: Married or civil partnership, both spouses working, one has earnings of £12,000, the other has earnings of £48,000, child care fees paid £10,000

Example 3: Single person with earnings of £45,000, child care fees paid £10,000

How you claim child care tax relief

Your personal tax return includes a section for claiming childcare tax relief in the section for children.

As evidence of the payments made, you will need to get a certificate from the person or establishment concerned for each child in care. This will confirm:

• the child care provider's name
• the child care provider's registration number (if applicable)
• the child's name
• the child's date of birth
• your name
• the total payments made for child care in the year

Use the information on the certificate to complete your personal tax return.

Don’t include any amount which has been paid to you as a child care component of income support. 

Keep the certificate(s) in your records in case we need to see them. You don't need to include them with your tax return.

Child care relief certificate

This certificate must only be completed by the registered child care provider.

Child care relief certificate

Checking if your childcare provider is registered

Any person or setting that looks after your child and provides a professional service must be registered under the Day Care of Children (Jersey) Law 2002.

Nannies are accredited by the Jersey Child Care Trust.

Childcare information

You can find the full list of childcare providers on the Jersey Child Care Trust website.

Childcare certificate calculator

If you're an accredited nanny you can use the calculator below to correctly complete childcare certificates in accordance with the law. Advice and assistance is also available from the Jersey Child Care Trust.

​Calculator to produce child care certificates (accredited nannies only)

Other support for childcare​

You may qualify for help towards the cost of child care from income support. If you receive income support towards your child care payments, these can't be claimed as a deduction for tax.

Income support childcare rates​