The 'qualifying childcare vouchers' scheme is a legacy scheme now available only to those who were already in the scheme via their current employer before 4 October 2018. From this date, no new entrants are permitted to any such scheme. See E1.715 for 'Tax-free Childcare', which effectively replaced childcare vouchers and which is not administered by employers.
In the scheme, 'qualifying childcare vouchers' provided for an employee are not liable to income tax up to the exempt amount. In addition, they are exempt from the tax charge on general earnings (see E4.102), with the consequence that no tax charge can arise if the benefit can be converted into cash (as where it is offered under a salary sacrifice arrangement or if a cash alternative is available instead)1. See EIM22011–EIM22017. A 'qualifying childcare voucher' is a non-cash voucher that meets four conditions2.
The first condition requires the voucher to be provided to enable an employee to obtain care for a child who:
• is a child or stepchild of the employee and is maintained
Web page updated on 17 Mar 2025 16:58
