Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 318C

Childcare: meaning of "qualifying child care"

Section 318C defines what counts as "qualifying child care" for the purposes of the employer-supported childcare exemption under section 318A, setting out the registration and approval requirements that vary by country within the UK and specifying which types of care are excluded from the exemption.

• Qualifying child care must be provided by a registered or approved carer, with separate rules for England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and care provided outside the UK
• In England, qualifying care includes care by persons registered under the Childcare Act 2006, care directed by a school proprietor on school premises (outside school hours for compulsory-age children), and care supplied by persons registered under the Health and Social Care Act 2008
• In Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, qualifying care is defined by reference to each country's own childcare registration and approval frameworks, including local authority provision and approved childcare schemes
• Care is excluded from the exemption if provided by the employee's partner, by a relative of the child mainly in the child's or parent's home, by a relative caring solely for related children, or by a foster parent for a child they are fostering