Understand why childcare salary-sacrifice and voucher arrangements are scheme-dependent, and compare them with the Tax-Free Childcare estimator.
Childcare salary sacrifice and voucher arrangements are limited and employer or scheme dependent. This page is a caveated guide, not a live salary-sacrifice calculator, and it links to the Tax-Free Childcare estimator for the current government top-up model.
| Tax/source year | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Region | England/Wales/Northern Ireland |
| Tax code basis | 1257L where the page uses PAYE defaults |
| Pension basis | No pension deduction unless this example says otherwise |
| Student loan basis | No student loan unless selected in this example |
| What is not decided here | PayBreakdown does not decide payroll correctness, lender approval, benefit entitlement or employer compliance, and does not give regulated financial, mortgage, debt, tax, payroll or legal advice. |
|---|
Childcare vouchers closed to new joiners in 2018. You can only still be in a voucher or childcare salary-sacrifice arrangement if you joined before then and have stayed with the same employer without a long break in the deductions, so what is available depends on your own history and on the employer rather than on a general rule. PayBreakdown does not model a new non-pension childcare salary-sacrifice scheme.
Employer childcare benefits, vouchers, salary sacrifice, Tax-Free Childcare, Universal Credit childcare costs and funded-hours support are different schemes. This page does not decide eligibility, employer scheme availability, payroll treatment or whether support can be combined.
Change any figure above and the result moves with it. A payslip can differ from any calculator because payroll works pay period by pay period, so a tax-code change, a bonus, arrears or a refund can land in one month and not the next. See how each deduction is worked out.
It depends on employer and scheme rules. PayBreakdown does not decide whether a childcare salary-sacrifice or voucher arrangement is available to you.
No. Tax-Free Childcare is a government top-up model with its own eligibility and compatibility rules. Use the Tax-Free Childcare calculator for that estimate.
No. Universal Credit childcare support is not modelled here and should be checked separately through official services.
No. It is a limited explanatory page. It does not decide eligibility, employer scheme availability, payroll treatment, tax advice or financial advice.
Last updated 2026-08-27. Checked by Sean Elsmore. Rates last checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-07. Estimates are for planning and should be checked against official records where the decision matters.