Free Hours
0.00hrs/wk
Annual Cost Before Support
£16,640.00
Tax-Free Childcare Saving
£2,000.00
Net Annual Cost
£14,640.00
Rates & sources
Standard amortisation formulas used across UK lenders. Interest rates move daily — confirm with your lender or broker.
Source: Bank of England — Statistics — figures refreshed at the start of each tax year.
Upgrade · £9.99
Full 2025/26 tax summary as a PDF
A personalised 4-page report with your band breakdown, NI, pension relief and sources — delivered to your inbox. No subscription.
When to use this calculator
- Before comparing lenders, brokers, or repayment options.
- When you want to test how a different deposit, rate, or term changes affordability.
- When you need a quick estimate before using a formal quote or agreement in principle.
- When you are stress-testing your budget against a potential rate rise to see the impact on monthly payments.
- When you want to understand the full cost of borrowing — not just the monthly figure — before you commit.
A realistic UK planning example
Use these sample inputs as a quick scenario test, then change one variable at a time to compare outcomes.
Child's Age
Under 2
Childcare Hours Per Week
40 hours
Weekly Cost Per Hour (£)
5%
Both Parents Working?
Yes
After entering these figures, review free hours, annual cost before support and tax-free childcare saving together rather than in isolation — each metric tells a different part of the story. Then rerun the tool with one input adjusted to see which variable has the biggest effect on all three outputs before you settle on a plan.
How to read your results
Free Hours
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Annual Cost Before Support
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Tax-Free Childcare Saving
Review this figure alongside your gross income so you can understand the true cost of deductions and plan around any thresholds before the tax year closes. If the figure looks higher than expected, check whether any pension or gift-aid contributions could reduce your taxable income.
Net Annual Cost
Use this metric to compare scenarios side by side and understand how changes in the key inputs drive the final outcome. If the figure surprises you, isolate one variable at a time and rerun the calculation to identify which assumption is responsible.
Method & assumptionsAuthoritative sources
This calculator combines the two main UK government childcare support schemes for working families: free funded childcare hours (15 or 30 hours per week depending on the child's age and parental employment) and the Tax-Free Childcare government top-up of 20% (up to £2,000 per year per child). Free hours reduce the number of hours you pay for, and Tax-Free Childcare then applies a 20% government contribution on the remaining cost. The calculator assumes 52 chargeable weeks per year; in practice, funded hours typically run for around 38 term-time weeks, with some providers offering stretched-hour arrangements over 52 weeks at a reduced weekly amount. Always confirm the exact funded hours arrangement with your provider.
Common mistakes
- !Mixing up loan amount and property value, which can distort affordability and LTV.
- !Using a headline rate but forgetting fees, insurance, taxes, or repayment type.
- !Testing only one term length instead of comparing the payment and total cost together.
- !Forgetting that a repayment mortgage and an interest-only mortgage produce very different monthly figures and total costs.
- !Not accounting for the impact of a rate revert after an introductory fixed period ends, which can sharply increase payments.
What to do next
- Run a second scenario with a higher rate or shorter term so you can see the downside clearly.
- Compare the result with an affordability or overpayment calculator before applying.
- Use the related guides below to understand trade-offs before you request live quotes.
- Note down the monthly payment and total interest for your two or three strongest scenarios so you have a clear comparison ready when you speak to a broker.
- Check whether making a modest overpayment each month would reduce total interest significantly — run the overpayment calculator next to find out.
Frequently asked
Use arrow keys to navigate items, Enter or Space to expand/collapse.
End-of-article next steps
Where to go after this calculator
Move to a focused hub instead of restarting your research from scratch.
Best Tools for Small Business
Pick software, validate unit economics, and execute workflows with one connected path.
Open hub →
Startup Resource Center
A startup stack for software decisions, runway math, and practical launch workflows.
Open hub →
Creator Toolkit
Choose creator platforms, calculate revenue targets, and ship assets faster.
Open hub →
Money Management Tools
A practical path for financial product choices, scenario math, and planning utilities.
Open hub →