UK childminder compliance

The 2026 childminder invoice rules: what must be itemised

From January 2026, every invoice for a child receiving government-funded hours must itemise five things separately: funded hours, additional paid hours, food, non-consumables, and activities. Get this wrong and you risk losing the funded place — or worse, an Ofsted finding.

Last updated 6 May 2026 · 6 min read

1. What exactly changes in January 2026?

DfE-issued statutory guidance now requires that every invoice issued to a parent of a child claiming government-funded early-years hours must show, as separate line items:

Funded hours. Per week or per term, with the funded rate of £0 clearly shown.
Additional paid hours. At your normal hourly/daily rate. Must not be a condition of the funded place.
Food charges. Itemised — usually a flat per-meal or per-day amount. Parents must be free to send food instead.
Non-consumables. Each item separately: nappies, sun cream, toiletries, etc. Optional for the parent.
Activities & trips. Each itemised: outings, classes, special projects. Optional.

2. A compliant invoice, line by line

Suppose Ava is a 2-year-old whose working parents claim the 15-hour entitlement; you also look after her for an extra 10 hours a week at £6/hour. You provide lunch (£3.50/day) and went on a soft-play outing one day (£8). Here's what the invoice should look like under the 2026 rules:

Line	Detail	Amount
Funded hours	15h × 5 days, working-parents 2yo entitlement	£0.00
Additional paid hours	10h × £6.00	£60.00
Food	Lunch × 5 days × £3.50	£17.50
Activity	Soft-play outing, Wed 6 May	£8.00
Total		£85.50

Notice three things: the funded line is shown explicitly at £0.00 (not omitted); the food, activity, and paid hours are separate (not bundled into one figure); and the activity has a date and description so the parent can see what they paid for.

3. The April 2025 top-up fee ban (still trips people up)

Since 1 April 2025, you cannot charge a parent the difference between your usual hourly rate and the funding rate paid by the local authority. If your normal rate is £8/hour and the council pays you £5.85, you cannot invoice the parent for the £2.15 gap on funded hours. Doing so risks losing the funded place and an Ofsted finding.

You can: charge for additional paid hours at your normal rate, charge for optional extras (food, activities, consumables), and recover the cost of those extras item-by-item. You cannot: make any of those charges a condition of accepting the funded place, or roll them into a single "funded hours fee".

4. How Dottie handles this for you

Dottie is the only UK childminder invoicing tool built around these rules from day one. Set each child's funded hours, paid hours, and any extras once. Every invoice is generated with the five line-item categories already separated — funded shown at £0.00, paid hours at your rate, food itemised by day, non-consumables and activities each on their own line.

You review the draft, approve it, and send it to the parent in a single tap. The parent verifies their child's date of birth before they can see anything sensitive (your bank details). HMRC-ready records are kept automatically — useful when MTD for Income Tax kicks in for £50k+ childminders in April 2026.

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Frequently asked questions

What changes about childminder invoices in January 2026?

From January 2026, every invoice for a child receiving government-funded hours must itemise five things separately: the funded hours per week or term, any additional paid hours (at your normal rate), food charges, non-consumables (e.g. nappies, sun cream), and activities or trips. Each non-consumable and activity must be listed individually, not bundled.

Can I still charge a top-up fee?

No. Since 1 April 2025, DfE rules prohibit early-years providers from charging a top-up fee — that is, the difference between your normal hourly rate and the funding rate the local authority pays you. You can charge for additional paid hours at your normal rate, but those hours must not be a condition of the funded place.

What can I charge for during funded hours?

Voluntary, optional charges only: meals, snacks, consumables (nappies, sun cream), specific activities or trips. Parents must be told they have a choice — to send their own food, opt out of an outing, etc. — and the charges must be itemised on the invoice.

Do funded hours have to be over 38 weeks?

No. The default is 38 weeks (term-time only) but funding can be stretched across up to 52 weeks, which reduces the number of funded hours per week. You agree the pattern with the parent and the local authority funding portal at the start of the term.

Does Dottie support the 2026 invoice rules?

Yes. Dottie generates invoices that itemise funded hours, additional paid hours, food, non-consumables, and activities as separate line items by default. The invoice is compliant out of the box — you do not need to build a custom template.

What about the September 2025 expansion to 30 funded hours from 9 months old?

From September 2025, eligible working parents can claim 30 funded hours per week from when the child is 9 months old, until they start school. The invoice rules above apply to every funded-hours invoice, regardless of which entitlement the child is on (15h universal, 15h working-parents, or 30h working-parents).

Sources & further reading

This guide is for general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Rules change — always check the current GOV.UK guidance, your local authority funding agreement, and where appropriate take advice from a qualified accountant.