Advice for Providers

+ Q. How do I know if my setting qualifies for the subsidy scheme?

The subsidy can be offered by all registered childcare providers that are signed up to the TFC scheme and can register a child below primary school age. This includes nurseries, playgroups and childminders. It does not apply to unregistered or informal childcare arrangements.

+ Q. How to identify a Tax-Free Childcare payment

When a parent pays you using their childcare account, the transaction will appear on your bank statement as National Savings A. This entry should also contain the child's:

• Childcare reference number made up of 4 letters and 5 numbers. The letters are the first initial and the first 3 letters of the child's surname. For example, AJON12345.

• Tax-Free Childcare account number. This will be 13 digits long and start with 1100, and should contain the letters TFC. For example, TFC 1100012345678

If your bank displays payment information differently and you are unable to identify a parent's payment, you can submit a payment reconciliation form or call the childcare service helpline: 03001234097

+ Q. Is there a maximum amount that can be claimed under the subsidy scheme?

Yes. The maximum amount that can be claimed per child under the subsidy scheme is £184 per month, which is £2,208 per year. This is based on a maximum childcare cost of £1,224 per month, or £14,688 annually. If your childcare costs are less than this, you will be able to claim the full subsidy. If they are more than this, you can claim the subsidy on £1,224 of your costs each month. This means the maximum subsidy which can be claimed each month is £184, per child.

+ Q. Why is there a need for the cap and how was it determined?

A cap is necessary to strike a balance between helping parents with the cost of childcare and managing the available budget in an equitable and responsible way. The initial level at which it has been set was informed by the data available on full-time childcare costs, the current distribution of annual TFC claims and the available budget. Data from the operation of the scheme will provide more comprehensive information on costs and the cap will be reviewed in light of this emerging evidence. The intention is to set it at a level that ensures the vast majority of families fully benefit from the 15% subsidy.

+ Q. Does the cap apply to the childcare costs of children with a disability?

If your child can claim up to £4,000 under TFC, they will be able to claim up to £4,400 under the NICSS. What this means is that the monthly cap under the NICSS will be £367 a month for this child rather than £184. You will be required by EYO to demonstrate that you meet the HMRC TFC criteria for a child who is disabled. Further information on the TFC rules can be found at Tax-Free Childcare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

+ Q. Is income from the NICSS taxable?

Yes

+ Q. What happens if a provider is off sick and unable to provide care but has already billed in advance?

A process will be in place for the provider to amend a claim if the anticipated level of childcare has not been provided. Where possible, we will not require a refund to be made but will make an amendment to subsequent claims from that provider.

+ Q. Can a provider still apply a discount if they are on holiday but still charge a reduced fee?

Yes. The scheme is aimed at reducing parental bills so pre-established holiday payment commitments are eligible within this scheme.

+ Q. Can we include the discount on to ad-hoc activities and services, or does this need to be invoiced separately to the parent?

The NICSS will provide a 15% subsidy on all childcare costs that are normally covered by the Tax Free Childcare Subsidy.

+ Q. One child receives a family discount, do I apply the 15% NICSS discount after the sibling discount is applied?

Please apply the 15% discount to the fee you normally charge the parents—that is, to the sum after the sibling discount is applied.

+ Q. I normally invoice families together on one invoice, can I still do this?

Yes, however for the children eligible for NICSS, you need to clearly state: Name of Child, Tax free Childcare Number, Amount prior to reduction, 15% reduction amount, New amount payable by parents.

+ Q. Are deposits eligible and applicable for NICSS?

No - A refundable deposit is not covered under the NICSS Scheme. A deposit line can appear on an invoice, but the subsidy cannot be applied to the deposit amount.

+ Q. Is the information around fees visible to parents. What if we decide to change our prices?

Fees will not be made visible to parents. Participating providers must inform Early Years of changed fees/rates.

+ Q. I have a child who is being deferred for primary one so is doing an extra year at nursery, will they be eligible for this scheme

Yes, if they have been officially deferred by the Education Authority. Early Years are required to confirm deferral status.

+ Q. A child’s Tax free Childcare expiry date has now passed, what should I do?

Parents will be required to update their Expiry Date as part of a review process, which will be conducted by Early Years early in 2025.

+ Q. A child in my setting is no loner eligible for Tax Free Childcare, what should I do?

The parent is responsible for letting the childcare provider know if they are no longer eligible for Tax Free Childcare. If a parent has been in contact with you, you should contact the NICSS Team (nicssprovider@early-years.org) to let them know the child is no longer eligible, including the Child Application Number and TFC Number. The Child Application will then be closed, and you will no longer have access to this on your system.

+ Q. A parent has informed me that they are digitally exempt and do not use the online Tax Free Childcare service, what should I do?

We are aware of these cases and have set up a process for these parents, in that we allocate them a TFC number which can be tracked on our system.

They will still need to register on the portal, but if you ask them to contact nicssparent@early-years.org, we will allocate them with a number so they can complete registration.

+ Q. Are NICSS payments made to registered childminders who claim Universal Credit treated as income?

Yes. Childminders in receipt of Childcare Subsidy Scheme payments who also receive Universal Credit must declare these payments as income in every Universal Credit assessment period in which it is paid. They can report this income using their Universal Credit online account or by phoning the Universal Credit Service Centre

+ Q. Do registered childminders have to declare the upfront and monthly administration payments as income on their Universal Credit claim?

Universal Credit customers working as self-employed registered childminders will need to declare both the upfront and monthly administration payments as income in the Assessment Period during which they were received. However, it should be noted that both the upfront and the ongoing monthly administration payments are also an allowable expense under Universal Credit. The full amounts of these payments should therefore be declared as both income and expenses in the same Assessment Period during which the payments were received. The NICSS subsidy payments made to childcare providers for the childcare provided are not an allowable expense and must only be declared as income.

+ Q. What will be done with the data that providers upload to the NICSS portal?

The data requested will be used to process claims, monitor scheme activity and assess its impact. The NICSS is the first step in delivering a comprehensive Early Learning and Childcare Strategy for Northern Ireland and the data collected as part of this scheme will be aggregated and used for statistical purposes to inform the future development of the NICSS and this wider work.

+ Q. Will providers be required to increase fees to participate in the NICSS?

There is no need for providers to adjust parental fees to align with the NICSS requirements or to cover the administration costs of implementation.

Providers are expected to retain their normal fee structures for children of the same age who are accessing similar services. There should be no differentiation in pricing between children receiving the subsidy and those who are not. Participation in the subsidy scheme will be based on this approach.

+ Q. Can you provide an example of how the subsidy might work?

The following is an example of how the subsidy and TFC might impact a monthly childcare bill of a parent eligible for the subsidy:

(1) Monthly fee normally charged by the provider to a parent - £1,000

(2) NICSS subsidy (15% of normal fee) paid by EYO on behalf of the Department of Education - £150

(3) Reduced monthly fee charged by the provider to an eligible parent under the subsidy scheme - £850

(4) Tax free childcare discount claimed by a parent through their TFC account (20%(for every £8 you pay into your TFC account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay your provider) - £170

(5) Net cost of fees to parent - £680

+ Q. We change our fees annually. Do we also need to notify you when parents reduce or change days at nursery?

Please update us if you change your rates only. We do not need to know if attendance schedules change.

+ Q. We run a number of groups on different sites. Will I have a different account for each site or will they be connected to the same one?

If you have separate childcare provider registrations for each site, then yes you will need a different account - each with a unique email address.

+ Q. When I try to login to the secure online portal, I am promoted for a verification code. When I enter the code that I receive by email it is not accepted.

Close your browser windows and click on the original login link again and this will prompt you for a 1 time verification code. Wait for a new code to come through now. Do not use any previously issued codes at this point. Ensure there are no spaces before or after the code. When you enter your verification code there is an option to "remember this device" so you do not have to repeat this process for 30 days.

+ Q. I need to change some of the information I added to the system and it now won't allow me to amend - what should I do?

Please make us aware of this by emailing nicssprovider@early-years.org and we will respond as soon as possible.

+ Q. I have added my personal email/mobile onto this registration form - is it only Early Years that can access this information?

Yes - this information will ONLY be used for the purposes of processing your registration.

+ Q. Can I set up an additional email address for administration of the scheme for our setting?

Not at present but we may be able to offer this in the future and will update this page accordingly.

+ Q. There are some claims on my portal showing as ‘Not Eligible’, what does this mean?

These claims are not yet submitted and require attention, this is usually because not all mandatory fields have been completed. You should log back into your account to review these claim records, make the necessary amendments and ‘Submit’.

+ Q. There is a claim on my portal that I do not need, as the child has since left my setting. How can I remove this?

Please get in touch with the NICSS Team (nicssprovider@early-years.org) or your allocated Grants Officer, to let them know which Claim / s you would like to have removed from your portal.