Sign in to your childcare provider account for Tax-Free Childcare

You must sign up to Tax-Free Childcare before you can receive payments from parents using Tax-Free Childcare.

Sign in to your account

Youll need your 11-digit user ID and password. You can find the user ID on your sign up to Tax-Free Childcare registration letter.

If you did not receive a letter or have lost your user ID contact the Childcare Service helpline.

Sign in now

Receiving payments from parents

Parents can find your details through their childcare account by searching for either your:

• name
• address
• postcode
• regulator reference

Once the parent makes a payment to you from their childcare account for an amount:

• up to and including 2000, it should show in your bank account within 24 hours, depending on your bank
• 2001 or more, it may take 3 to 5 working days to show in your bank

Matching payments to a child

On your bank statement, each payment will include a unique child reference made up of:

• 4 letters the first letter of the childs name and the first 3 letters of the childs surname
• 5 numbers, followed by TFC

For example, AJON12345TFC.

Youll need to ask the parent for this reference before they pay you.

Refunding payments

If you need to refund a payment back to a parent, you must pay the money:

• from the bank account that received the original payment
• back to the childcare account that the original payment came from

Youll need to ask the parent for their unique 13-digit childcare account number beginning with 1100. You must include their childcare account number when making a refund.

If you cannot get this information from the parent, contact the Childcare Service helpline.

How to make a refund

Youll need to refund the parent through your childcare business bank account using the:

• account name Tax Free Childcare
• account number 10027165
• sort code 60 89 71
• reference parents unique 13-digit childcare account number

You must select business account during the refund process.

How long will a refund take

If you make a refund by:

• Bacs (Bankers Automated Clearing System) this will take up to 3 to 5 working days
• Faster Payment this will take up to 24 hours

You cannot give a refund to parents using CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) or by cheque.

Managing your account

Keeping your details up to date

You should keep your bank account details up to date in your childcare provider account, as this is where all payments from parents will be sent.

If you want to change your address, email address or main contact on your account, you must tell your regulator. Once the changes have been made, your childcare account will update automatically with the new details.

Nominating a delegate

You can ask someone else to manage your childcare provider account for you. This is known as nominating a delegate.

When youre signed into your childcare provider account you can use the delegate option to add another person to manage your account for you.

Your nominated delegate must be someone who works with you or in your local office. They must have access to your childcare provider account.

To give this person access, youll need their:

• name
• address
• email address

We will send them a delegate letter explaining their responsibilities.