Does going back to work pay after childcare?
Take-home pay, less childcare after free hours and Tax-Free Childcare: what going back really nets you each week.
Your answer
Enter the salary, the days you'd work and what childcare costs.
About this calculator
For parents deciding whether to go back to work, or how many days to work, once childcare is paid for.
What happens to your answers
We don’t keep them. Your answers go to our server to do the sums and aren’t stored or logged. If you copy a link to your answers, they’re in the link itself, so only share it with people you trust.
How it’s worked out
We work out your take-home pay for the days you'd work, from the full-time salary. Then we take off childcare for those days, every week of the year. Free hours come off first. Tax-Free Childcare then adds £2 for every £8 you pay, up to £2,000 a year for each child, if you can get it. What's left is what going back nets you.
To get Tax-Free Childcare, each parent must expect to earn at least £203.36 a week on average (for someone aged 21 or over), and neither can have income over £100,000 for the £100,000 test.
Worked example
After childcare, going back to work 3 days a week nets you £162.22 a week, about £54.07 for each day you work.
2026/27 tax year · England · 5% pension taken before tax · no student loan · 3 days a week · childcare paid 52 weeks a year
| Your pay before tax for 3 days a week | £19,200 |
|---|---|
| You take home, after tax, National Insurance, pension and any student loan | £16,576 |
| Childcare: 1 child × £65.00 a day × 3 days × 52 weeks | £10,140 |
| Less Tax-Free Childcare, capped at £2,000 a child | − £2,000 |
| Childcare you pay, a year | − £8,140 |
| Going back nets you, a year | £8,436 |
| That's, for each week | £162.22 |
| And for each day you work | £54.07 |
Worked out using HMRC's published rates for the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), on a yearly basis.
Questions people ask
What if going back costs more than it pays?
That's common while children are small. Costs usually fall as free hours start and when children go to school, and working keeps paying into your pension. It can help to look at it over a few years, not just this one.
My child is disabled. Is the limit different?
Yes. Tax-Free Childcare can pay up to £4,000 a year for a disabled child. This calculator uses the £2,000 limit, so talk to us if that applies.
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