Written questions

Childcare: Tax Allowances

2026-05-19 · Treasury · 3497 · Official question

Sorcha Eastwood

Question

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the impact of excluding postgraduate stipends from the definition of qualifying income for Tax-Free Childcare on families where one parent is undertaking doctoral research funded by a

Answer

Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) is designed to help parents cover childcare costs so they can enter work, stay in employment, or increase their working hours. As a result, eligibility is based on income from paid work: each parent is generally expected to earn a...