Accountants for Nurseries, Childminders and Nannies
The funded-hours margin, the childcare VAT exemption, the childminder expenses a generalist misses, and nanny payroll run for you. Fixed fee, agreed before any work starts.
- Nurseries: funded-hours margin, the VAT exemption and the accounts
- Childminders: your return with the household-costs claim in full
- Nanny payroll: PAYE, pension and payslips, run for you
- Setting up: the right structure and a forecast that reflects funding
Tell us about your setting
- Fixed fee up front
- No obligation
- Reply within 1 working day
30 hrs
Funded from 9 months in England, since Sept 2025
VAT-exempt
Childcare fees, so nurseries cannot reclaim input VAT
PAYE
Employ a nanny and you are an employer
6 Apr 2026
Making Tax Digital starts, at £50,000
The Childcare Rules That Catch People Out
| What it is | Why it matters | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Funded hours, England | 30 hours from 9 months to school age, since | 1 Sep 2025 |
| Funded eligibility | Each working parent must earn under | £100,000 |
| Childcare VAT | Exempt under the welfare exemption, so no input-VAT reclaim | Exempt |
| Sole childcare activity | Makes no taxable supplies, so cannot register for VAT | No VAT |
| Childminder expenses | A share of household costs by the hours you work | Claimable |
| Employing a nanny | PAYE, the minimum wage and a pension apply | You employ |
| Making Tax Digital | Quarterly filing starts once gross income passes | £50,000 |
Checked against GOV.UK on 29 July 2026. The source for each figure is in the relevant guide. The funded-hours content is England; Scotland and Wales run their own systems.
Childcare is funded and taxed in ways an ordinary small business is not. A nursery gets a large slice of income at the council's funding rate rather than a set fee, and cannot reclaim the VAT on its costs because childcare is exempt. A childminder works from home and can claim a real share of household costs. A family with a nanny is, in law, an employer. None of it is everyday work for a high-street accountant.
This is the only kind of work we do. We get a nursery's funded-hours margin and VAT right, claim a childminder's expenses in full, run nanny payroll, and agree a fixed fee before we start. The work is delivered by Tidy Money Ltd, regulated by the ACCA.
What We Do
Accountants for childminders
your return and every childminder expense, claimed in full.
Accountants for nurseries
funded hours, the VAT exemption, accounts and payroll, handled.
Nanny payroll
PAYE, pension and payslips for your nanny, run for you.
Childcare accounts and tax
the accounts and return prepared and filed, deadlines owned.
Setting up a childcare business
the structure, the forecast and the set-up, done right from day one.
How Childcare Is Actually Taxed
For a nursery it starts with funding. The 2024 to 2025 expansion means a large and growing share of places are funded at the council's rate, which often does not cover the full cost, so the funded-to-private mix now drives the margin. On top of that, childcare is VAT-exempt: no VAT on fees, but no reclaim on the equipment, fit-out and costs either, which surprises owners planning a refurbishment.
For a childminder, the tax turns on the household-costs method and the food and equipment they can claim, which is where they most often overpay by claiming too little. And for a family employing a nanny, the surprise is becoming an employer: PAYE, the minimum wage, a pension and the trap of agreeing pay net rather than gross. Getting each of these right is the work.
What We Do Not Do
The work is delivered by Tidy Money Ltd, a practice regulated by the ACCA. It holds no permission from the Financial Conduct Authority, so we do the tax and the accounts, not investment or pension advice, and we do not sell tax-avoidance schemes.
We act for childcare providers and nanny employers, not for parents claiming Tax-Free Childcare or funded hours; that is a matter for HMRC's own service, not an accountant. And we do not invent numbers: there are no fabricated reviews or made-up average fees here, the funded-hours content is England, and every rate and date traces to a GOV.UK source.
Childcare Tax and Funding, Explained
Childminder expenses
This guide covers the household-costs method, food, equipment and the rest, claimed in full.
Funded hours and early years funding
This guide covers the 30-hours expansion and what it does to a nursery's income and cash flow.
VAT for nurseries
This guide covers why childcare is exempt, and the input-VAT catch it creates.
Childminder start-up and registration
This guide covers registering, the start-up grants, and getting the tax side right from day one.
Setting up a nursery
This guide covers the structure, the VAT position and the numbers to plan a nursery around.
Nanny tax and payroll
This guide covers employing a nanny makes you an employer: PAYE, pension and the gross-vs-net trap.
Making Tax Digital
This guide covers the £50k, £30k and £20k start dates, and getting ready as a childminder.
Common questions
Do you act for nurseries and childminders?
Yes, both, along with families who employ a nanny. We handle a nursery's funded-hours margin and VAT, a childminder's return and expenses, and nanny payroll. Each has its own tax profile and we work to it.
Can you help with funded hours and the VAT position?
Yes. We separate funded and private income so you can see your real margin, and handle the childcare VAT exemption and partial exemption, which is where nursery finances most often go wrong.
Do you run nanny payroll?
Yes. If you employ a nanny you are an employer, so we register you, run PAYE and the pension, produce payslips and handle the HMRC reporting, and help you agree a gross wage so your cost is fixed.
How much does it cost?
A fixed fee, agreed in writing before any work starts, scaled to your setting. Nothing is charged until you approve the quote, and there is no hourly billing or charge for asking a question.
Who actually does the work?
The work is delivered by Tidy Money Ltd, a practice regulated by the ACCA and owned by Preetesh Parmar FCCA. Your enquiry goes straight to the firm that would do the work, not to a panel of firms.
Get a fixed fee before any work starts
Tell us whether you run a nursery, work as a childminder, or employ a nanny, and what is outstanding: the accounts, the funding, the VAT, or the payroll. We come back with a fixed price and the date it has to be finished by.
Get in touch