🔒 To allow TFC payments, your setting needs to have in-app payments enabled
What is Tax-Free Childcare?
Tax-Free Childcare lets eligible parents get a 20% government top-up on their childcare payments. When you enable TFC in Famly, parents can pay you directly from their TFC accounts, and there are no processing fees for you.
What you'll need before you can enable TFC
There are a few steps to take before you're able to start accepting TFC patments. Before you can turn on TFC, make sure you have:
In-app payments already set up - TFC works alongside your existing payment setup. If you haven't enabled in-app payments yet, start with our setup guide.
Your identification number - This is your Ofsted ID in England, or your Care Inspectorate ID in Scotland and Wales. We'll show you how to find it in a moment.
Your site postcode - It needs to match what's registered with Ofsted or your Care Inspectorate.
That's it. Most settings in England are already registered with HMRC if you're Ofsted-registered, so you shouldn't need to do anything extra there.
Finding Your Identification Number
Your ID is on your official inspection report. Here's where to find it:
In England
Search for your setting at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/. Your Ofsted URN (Unique Reference Number) is on your inspection report. It might look like "EY123456" or just "123456".
In Scotland
Find your Care Service ID at https://www.careinspectorate.com/ by searching for your setting name.
In Wales:
Your Care Inspectorate Wales ID is at https://careinspectorate.wales/.
In Northern Ireland:
Search for your Nursery Registration Number at https://www.familysupportni.gov.uk/.
☝️ It is really important that you enter your details into Famly exactly as they appear in your records. Make sure to double-check that you've copied the exact Ofsted ID (some Ofsted IDs contain an EY and some don't; do not enter an EY if you don't see an EY in your records), Care Inspectorate ID or Nursery Registration Number. Any typos or mistakes will cause all TFC payments to fail
Setting up Tax-Free Childcare
To enable TFC:
Go to Settings → Finances → Invoicing and payments
From here, find the Payment methods section
Next, under Tax-Free Childcare, click Set up Tax-Free Childcare, and enter your Site postcode and Registration ID
Click on Enable TFC
💡 Double-check everything before you save - even one wrong character will stop TFC payments from working
What happens next
Once TFC is enabled, parents can add it as a payment method in Famly. They'll need to:
Give Famly permission to access their TFC account (this happens on gov.uk)
Link each child using their unique TFC reference code
Choose TFC when they pay invoices
For the full guide on how Parents can setup TFC - look here
Setting up Automatic TFC Payments
Parents can automate their TFC payments in Famly, just like they can with cards or Direct Debit. Once they've linked their TFC account, they can turn on automatic payments and choose TFC as their payment method.
On your scheduled automatic payment day, Famly will charge their TFC account automatically.
You don't need to do anything special - TFC uses your existing automatic payment schedule (the one you set in Settings → Finances → Invoicing and payments). See our guide to managing automatic payments if you need to change your schedule.
Siblings and automatic TFC payments
If a parent wants to set up automatic TFC payments for more than one child, they will need a separate bill payer account for each child. This is a requirement of TFC, not Famly. Most parents will not need to do this, as it only applies when setting up automatic payments for multiple children. If a parent asks about this, you can direct them to our guide on splitting sibling bill payers.
Read more 👉 Split siblings for automatic TFC payments
Setting Up TFC For Multiple Programmes
You can only link one Ofsted ID to each Famly site. This means that if you run separate programmes with different Ofsted IDs, such as a nursery and an out-of-school club, you will need separate Famly subscriptions to accept TFC for both.
For example:
Sunny Days Nursery (Ofsted ID EY123456) — one subscription
Sunny Days Out of School Club (Ofsted ID EY789012) — separate subscription
This is a requirement set by Ofsted and the TFC scheme, not by Famly. Parents can still pay using TFC for both programmes; they will simply make payments through each site’s Famly account.
Helpful Resources for Setting up Tax-free Childcare
You'll find a number of helpful guides attached, which you can print out or send to parents if you'd like to give them a helping hand while setting up TFC payments.
Click on any of the PDFs below to download your own copy!