Teachers · tax year 2026-27
The school year and the childcare year are not the same calendar.
A classroom contract already looks like ‘30 hours’. Funded childcare in England is 30 hours a week for 38 weeks — which covers term time and still leaves INSET days, twilight parents’ evenings, and every school holiday to pay for. Your occupational maternity scheme is a third calendar on top.
This page is for you if
- Classroom teachers, ECT colleagues, and support staff on term-time-only contracts
- Two-teacher households who assume combined pay is what HMRC looks at
- Heads of department and leadership colleagues who may cross the Child Benefit tax threshold on one salary
- Teachers coming back from maternity leave mid-year and needing wraparound from day one
Use a different page if
- You work in a private nursery rather than a school — your occupational rules are different
- You are a full-time student on a PGCE with no teaching contract yet — use the student page
The term-time trap: 38 weeks is not a full working year
Free Childcare for Working Parents in England is 30 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. That is designed around early-years terms, not around the fact that you already work those weeks. It does not pay for the long summer, October half-term, or a Wednesday INSET when the nursery is open and the school is not.
Tax-Free Childcare is the scheme that can follow the child into a registered holiday club or after-school club. The funded 30 hours generally cannot be claimed for wraparound once the child is in a state-funded reception class.
Your child’s date of birth decides which term the 30 hours can start. A baby born in June does not unlock a September place just because that is when you go back to the classroom. Apply in time for the code — late codes mean a wasted term of fees.
Start with these, in this order
free childcare hours
Free hours that start on a term date, not your return-to-work date
Teachers plan September. HMRC and the local authority plan 1 September, 1 January, or 1 April based on the child’s birthday.
Do this. Work backwards from the term you need. You (and a partner, if you have one) must each expect to meet the minimum earnings over the next three months. Term-time-only pay still counts — use the annual equivalent if needed.
Watch out. Either adult over £100,000 adjusted net income loses the hours for the household. A leadership TLR on top of UPS can do that without anyone feeling ‘high earning’.
Official page on GOV.UKtax free childcare
Tax-Free Childcare for holiday clubs and wraparound
This is the scheme that still matters after the child starts school, when the 30 hours stop being the main lever.
Do this. Use it for registered after-school clubs, breakfast clubs and playschemes. Government top-up is £2 for every £8 you pay, capped at £500 per child every 3 months.
Watch out. The provider must already be signed up. A school-run club is not automatically in the scheme. You must sign in every 3 months, including over the summer when you are not in school.
Official page on GOV.UKsmp
Occupational maternity first, then SMP
Most teachers are employees, so SMP is the statutory floor. The Burgundy Book (or your academy trust policy, or SNCT in Scotland) is often more generous — and it is not on GOV.UK.
Do this. Read your contract and the occupational scheme before you take unpaid leave. Shared Parental Leave can be available, but occupational top-ups are not always mirrored. Ask payroll, not a forum.
Watch out. We do not quote occupational percentages here. Trust policies diverge. Statutory rules still apply underneath; occupational pay can stop if you do not return for the required period.
Official page on GOV.UKchild benefit
Child Benefit and the single-salary HICBC test
HMRC looks at the higher individual adjusted net income, not the two teacher salaries added together.
Do this. Claim Child Benefit. If one of you is over £60,000, that person pays the High Income Child Benefit Charge — 1% of the benefit for every £200 over the threshold, all of it at £80,000.
Watch out. Two teachers on £45,000 each do not pay HICBC. One teacher on £62,000 with a partner on £20,000 does. UPS, TLR and acting-up allowances are what usually tip a classroom salary over the line.
Official page on GOV.UK
Term-time-only pay still has an annual figure
A term-time-only contract is paid for the weeks you work, but HMRC and the childcare service want an annual or three-month expectation. Do not enter a half-year figure because you are paid over 12 months, and do not annualise a single half-term of extra cover as if it will last all year. Pension contributions reduce adjusted net income — relevant for both HICBC and the £100,000 cap — but check the current GOV.UK definition before you change contributions just for a childcare code.
Mistakes we see on this path
- Assuming the 30 hours cover INSET days and the summer holiday because ‘teachers already work 38 weeks’.
- Waiting until the week before term to apply for a code, then paying a full term of nursery fees.
- Adding both salaries together to decide whether HICBC applies.
- Leaving a Tax-Free Childcare account to lapse in August because school is shut.
What to do next
1 Plot the child’s birthday against the next three term start dates
If the hours cannot start in the term you return, budget Tax-Free Childcare or a holiday club for the gap. The calculator will not invent a September start that the rules do not allow.
Read the official rule2 Ask payroll for the occupational maternity factsheet, not just the SMP form
Keep the statutory GOV.UK page for the floor. Use your employer’s scheme for the rest. If you move trust mid-leave, check whether the occupational deal moves with you.
Read the official rule3 Run HICBC on the higher salary only
Enter each adult separately in the calculator. A TLR or acting-up year can create a one-year charge even if your usual classroom pay sits under £60,000.
Open this step
Questions for this situation
Does a term-time-only contract meet the work test?
Usually yes, if the annual equivalent meets the minimum earnings. GOV.UK lets people with irregular pay use a tax-year average. A term-time contract is still paid work. Confirm with the figures on your latest payslip, not with a forum rule of thumb.
Can I use the 30 hours for after-school club once my child is in reception?
GOV.UK says you cannot claim Free Childcare for Working Parents for care outside school hours if the child is in a state-funded school nursery or reception class. Tax-Free Childcare is the scheme aimed at wraparound and holiday clubs.
We are both teachers. Do we add our pay for the £100,000 cap?
No. The cap is per parent: if either of you expects adjusted net income over £100,000, the household cannot get the working-parent hours or Tax-Free Childcare. Combined pay of £90,000 and £90,000 is fine on that test; one pay of £101,000 is not.
Is the Burgundy Book the same as SMP?
No. SMP is the statutory scheme. The Burgundy Book is the occupational scheme used by many maintained schools in England and Wales. Academies, independents and Scottish councils use other documents. We do not treat occupational percentages as government rates.