> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Paying with Tax-Free Childcare > Pay for your booking straight from your child's Tax-Free Childcare account, or book now and pay from it yourself later. If your club takes Tax-Free Childcare, you can use your child's childcare account to pay for their places. Many clubs let you pay from it straight away at checkout. You can also book now and pay the club from your account on GOV.UK later. > [!WARNING] > > A Tax-Free Childcare payment cannot be undone online. If your club ever refunds it, the money goes back to your child's childcare account by bank transfer, not to your own bank. That is the law. ## Before you start * You have a Tax-Free Childcare account for your child, and money in it that has cleared. Money you pay in can take a few days to be ready to spend. * You have added the club as a childcare provider in your childcare account. * You know your child's **Tax-Free Childcare reference**. It is four letters, five numbers and TFC, like `ABCD12345TFC`. It is not your 13-digit account number. ## Choose when to pay In your basket, choose **Tax-Free Childcare** under **How would you like to pay?**. Then choose one of two ways under **When would you like to pay it?**. | Way | What happens | | - | - | | **Pay now, straight from your childcare account** | The money is taken through HMRC at checkout. You are booked as soon as it goes through | | **Book now, pay from your childcare account later** | Nothing is taken. You are booked straight away and shown the reference to quote. You then pay the club from your childcare account on GOV.UK yourself | ![The two Tax-Free Childcare ways in the basket at 375px, Pay now chosen, with Book now, pay later beneath it](https://mintcdn.com/club-dock/i5cYbq0jP2hBThbX/parents/tfc-two-ways.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=i5cYbq0jP2hBThbX\&q=85\&s=71e9f087a4ffe750d19fa47fd696c6e7) > [!NOTE] > > If your club only shows one way, it takes Tax-Free Childcare the second way: book now, then pay from your childcare account afterwards, quoting your child's reference. ## Pay now The first time, you connect ClubDock to HMRC and link each child's account. After that, paying is one press. **1. Add your child's reference** If the club does not have it yet, type it into the box. Lower case and spaces are fine. If what you typed is not a reference, you are told straight away what one looks like. **2. Connect to HMRC** Press **Connect to HMRC**. You sign in on HMRC's own page and give permission once. You come back to your basket, still signed in, with your places still held and Tax-Free Childcare still chosen. **3. Link each child's account** Press **Link** for each child, for example **Link Aisha's account**. HMRC checks the reference against your child's date of birth and says whose account it is, so you can see it is the right one. **4. Pay** Each linked child shows what their places cost and how much is ready to spend. Press the pay button, for example **Pay £45.00 now**. You are booked once HMRC accepts the payment. ![The Pay now card at 375px with Ellie's account linked, showing £13.00 for her places and £420.00 ready to spend](https://mintcdn.com/club-dock/i5cYbq0jP2hBThbX/parents/tfc-pay-now.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=i5cYbq0jP2hBThbX\&q=85\&s=df17a41a1b706720eddbd770c3ff78d8) ### Things to know * **Tax-Free Childcare pays for the whole booking.** You cannot split one booking between your childcare account and a card. * **Each child's account pays for that child's places only.** With two children on one booking, two payments are taken, one from each account. You cannot pay for a brother or sister from one child's account. * **If an account is short, nothing is taken.** The pay button cannot be pressed, and the screen shows how much is ready to spend. Choose **Book now, pay from your childcare account later** to book today. You can switch back to **Pay now** if you top up and the money clears. * **Your permission to HMRC lasts 18 months.** After that, or if you withdraw it, you are asked to connect again. **Connect to HMRC** appears in the same place. ## If HMRC says no | What you see | What to do | | - | - | | The reference and date of birth do not match | Check both against your childcare account. A box appears to correct the reference, with **Link** beneath it | | Add the club in your childcare account first | Add the club as a provider in your childcare account on GOV.UK, then try again | | Not available just now | HMRC cannot take the payment at the moment. Pay another way, or try again later | | ClubDock could not confirm the payment | Check your childcare account before you try again. ClubDock never sends a payment twice, because a Tax-Free Childcare payment cannot be undone | If anything is refused, nothing is booked and nothing is taken. ## Paying later from your childcare account If you chose to pay later, or owe money on an earlier booking, see [Paying what you owe](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/paying-what-you-owe.md). From **Bookings** you can pay everything you owe from your children's accounts in one go. ## Related * [Paying by card](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/paying-by-card.md) * [Downloading a receipt](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/receipts.md) ## Related topics - [Paying what you owe](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/paying-what-you-owe.md) - [Paying by card](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/paying-by-card.md) - [Parent FAQs](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/faqs.md) - [Your basket](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/your-basket.md) - [Help for parents](https://clubdock.co.uk/docs/parents/overview.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.