Keep my 30 hours

How close are you to the £100k childcare cliff?

Enter your pay and pension. See what you’d lose and the cheapest way back under the limit.

Your annual figures

We check your adjusted net income (ANI).

Children
Other existing pension contributions

Amounts stay in the ANI calculation when you change pension type. Enter each contribution once.

Add bonus, benefits and other income

Include company car or private medical benefits.

Full savings interest, dividends and rental profit, including amounts covered by allowances.

EV or cycle scheme salary reduction. Put any resulting BIK in taxable benefits.

Add partner
Expected earnings and age

Added to ANI and expected earnings. Do not also enter this profit in other income.

Add Gift Aid
Change hourly value / add childcare bill

Total bill excluding free hours. Blank uses the annual cap; zero means no paid childcare.

Updates as you type. Nothing leaves your device. Rules checked 28 October 2026.

Figures checked against the 28 October 2026 Budget

£4,500 overFix costs £143 a month

Over the limit

You're £4,500 over. Sacrificing £375 a month into your pension costs about £143 a month and could protect up to £1,117 a month of childcare.

Raise your salary sacrifice from 5% to 9.1% of salary in total (about 4.09% extra).

Percentages use your full entered salary. Your scheme may use different pensionable pay. New total percentages are rounded up to 0.01%; pound estimates use the exact top-up.

30 free hours and Tax-Free Childcare

You lose both+£4,500 pension gets you backYou: £104,500£90k£95k£100k£105k£110k£115k£120kYou lose both+£4,500 pensionYou: £104,500£90k£95k£100k£105k£110k£115k£120k

Your adjusted net income (ANI)

Salary
£110,000
Salary sacrifice pension, 5%
−£5,500
Adjusted net income
£104,500
Over the £100,000 limit by
£4,500

What you'd lose each year

30 free hours, child 1 aged 9 months–2 years (1,140 hours at £10)
£11,400
Tax-Free Childcare, child 1
up to £2,000
At stake
up to £13,400

The fix: sacrifice £375 more a month (5% → 9.1% total)

Extra pension this year
£4,500
Income tax and National Insurance you no longer pay
−£2,790
Costs you
£1,710

You come out ahead by £11,690 a year

plus £4,500 more in your pension

Three ways to pay in £4,500

RouteYou pay inAdded by your providerBack through your tax returnReal cost
Salary sacrifice£375 a month5% → 9.1% total; about 4.09% extra——£1,710
Workplace pension£375 a month0% → 4.1% total; about 4.09% extra——£1,800
Personal pension or SIPP£3,600 before 5 AprilGross top-up: about 4.09% of salary£900£1,800£1,800

Salary sacrifice

£1,710

sacrifice £375 more a month

5% → 9.1% total; about 4.09% extra

Workplace pension

£1,800

pay £375 more a month into your workplace pension

0% → 4.1% total; about 4.09% extra

Personal pension or SIPP

£1,800

pay £3,600 into a personal pension before 5 April

Gross top-up: about 4.09% of salary

Added by your provider: £900. Back through your tax return: £1,800.

Each route adds £4,500 to your pension. Real cost is what you’re out of pocket after tax relief (and National Insurance, for salary sacrifice). How we calculate

Salary sacrifice also saves National Insurance. With a workplace pension, tax relief comes through your pay. With a personal pension or SIPP you pay first; your provider adds 20% and you claim the rest on your tax return.

Pay into a personal pension or SIPP by 5 April to count for this tax year. Check your provider’s payment timing.

How we calculate

Start with salary, bonus, self-employed profit, taxable benefits and full other income. Subtract salary sacrifice and workplace pension contributions. Subtract personal pension cash and Gift Aid after multiplying each by 1.25.

Each parent’s ANI must be at or below £100,000. We check minimum earnings separately, before pension payments or Gift Aid.

We compare income tax before and after each top-up to find the tax relief. Salary sacrifice can also save National Insurance. The childcare comparison uses your hourly value and paid bill, or the maximum Tax-Free Childcare amount when no bill is entered.

Scottish rates, separate savings and dividend taxes, pension limits and individual payroll arrangements need a closer check.

Read the official sources
Salary sacrifice vs personal pension or SIPP: compare your options

Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no cost to you. This is not financial advice.

Ways to make a pension contribution

AJ Bell

Offers a self-invested personal pension. Check current features, charges and contribution terms directly.

Visit AJ Bell

PensionBee

A pension provider. Check current account features, charges and contribution terms directly.

Visit PensionBee

Adviser option: Unbiased

A directory for finding financial advisers. Check an adviser’s regulated status and fees.

Visit Unbiased

Neutral information, not a provider recommendation. Pension decisions need to fit your circumstances.

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What is at stake?

The upper income limit applies to each parent’s ANI, rather than salary alone. Bonuses, taxable benefits and full other income count. Existing pensions and grossed-up Gift Aid can reduce ANI.

In England, eligible children from nine months to two years can lose all 30 working-parent hours. Children aged three to four retain 15 universal hours, so the additional hours at stake are lower. The calculator values the hours using your hourly rate and adds Tax-Free Childcare separately.

For Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland it counts Tax-Free Childcare only: free-hours rules differ. Where no paid childcare bill is entered, the displayed value is “up to” the annual cap.

Tax relief comes from the difference between income tax before and after the gross contribution. It is not a fixed cost per pound. Salary sacrifice can also save employee National Insurance; a SIPP needs an upfront cash payment followed by a provider top-up and any further tax refund.

FAQ

Clear answers when you are close to the £100,000 childcare threshold

Straight answers to the questions parents usually ask when they are trying to protect 30 hours free childcare or Tax-Free Childcare.

Does the income limit apply to each parent?

Yes. Each parent must be at or below £100,000 adjusted net income. A top-up by one parent does not fix a partner who remains over the limit.

Is there a minimum income rule?

Yes. You need at least £10,569 a year if you are aged 21 or over. It checks salary plus bonus and expected self-employed profit before deductions, not ANI. Other age bands have separate minimums. The official test uses expected earnings over the next three months and has exceptions. ANI alone does not establish eligibility.

What happens to free hours in England?

Eligible children from nine months to two years risk all 30 working-parent hours. Children aged three to four retain 15 universal hours. The calculator values the additional hours at stake separately from Tax-Free Childcare.

What about Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Free-hours rules differ. This calculator counts Tax-Free Childcare only outside England. Tax estimates use rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scottish rates need a separate check.

How does a personal pension reduce ANI?

Enter the cash actually paid. It is multiplied by 1.25 for the gross ANI reduction. The provider top-up is separate from any further tax relief claimed through Self Assessment.

Does other income count even within an allowance?

Include full savings interest, dividends and rental profit, including amounts covered by savings or dividend allowances. Add taxable benefits as well as salary and bonus.

What changes for salary sacrifice in 2029?

From April 2029, the £2,000 salary sacrifice pension cap concerns National Insurance relief only. ANI treatment is unchanged. The current-year calculator does not apply that future NI cap.

When must a SIPP top-up be paid?

Payments must be made by 5 April to count for this tax year. Check your provider’s processing timing. Do not confuse the cash payment with the gross pension contribution.

How is Tax-Free Childcare valued?

For a bill entered, the planning value is 20% of paid childcare, limited to £2,000 per child, or £4,000 for a disabled child. Without a bill it is labelled up to the cap. Reconfirm details every 3 months; confirm actual entitlement and timing with the official service.

Rules checked on 28 October 2026.

Sources

Rules checked on 28 October 2026.