FAMILIES with a child about to turn three need to apply for free childcare by tomorrow or risk missing out on thousands of pounds.
If your child reaches three years old between April 1 and August 31, you should apply for free childcare help worth up to £5,244 before July 31.
Parents are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks of the year during school term time once their child reaches three years old.
If you don't use the full 30-hour allocation each week, you could get free childcare for 52 weeks of the year, depending on your provider.
But you need to apply within a certain window to claim the help.
It's available to those who live in England and have a child aged three or four – if you live in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, there are different schemes available.
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Whether you can get the help depends on if you are working, your income, your child's age and circumstances, and your immigration status.
But if you qualify, you can apply online for a childcare account to get a code that gets you the assistance.
The application window depends on your child's birthday – you can apply when your child is two years and 36 weeks old.
If your child turns three in the summer months, between April 1 and August 31, they can get 30 hours of childcare from the school term starting on or after September 1.
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Applications opened on June 15, and you're recommended to get yours completed by July 31 or risk not getting the code in time.
That means families have only hours left to get an application in if they've not already done so.
But claiming the help can affect your entitlement to other benefits like Tax Credits, so do seek advice if you're not sure.
How can I apply for free childcare?
You can apply for 30 hours free childcare on the government's website.
At the moment, to qualify for 30 hours of free childcare parents need to be in work, earn a minimum of the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national living wage and earn less than £100,000 a year.
The rule applies to both those in a couple and single parents.
But if either of you earn over £100,000 a year, you'll only qualify for 15 hours of free chilcare.
You can apply for 30 hours free childcare from when your child is two years and 36 weeks old.
But depending on when they reach that age, you will start receiving free childcare help from different dates.
Once you have applied for a childcare account you get a code which you have to give to your provider.
You should check with your childcare provider to find out the exact date your 30 hours of free childcare will start.
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Crucially, you have to reconfirm your eligibility every three months.
The full details about how to apply for the extension on free childcare from April 2024 have not yet been announced.
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