Can a childminder in MTD still claim the old 10% wear-and-tear allowance?

HMRC's current guidance says childminders in MTD follow the standard expense rules and should record the actual business proportion of eligible household items and furniture rather than rely on the previous childminder arrangement.

Do childminders in MTD need every food receipt?

Keep a reliable digital income and expense record. HMRC's specific childminder guidance explains that the old relaxations differ once in MTD; save a contemporaneous food record and discuss the evidence standard with an accountant.

Childminder MTD expenses: home costs, food and wear and tear

Last reviewed: 11 August 2026

Quick summary

HMRC's March 2026 childminder guidance distinguishes the older childminder expense arrangement from the standard recordkeeping approach for a childminder in MTD.
For MTD, build a reasonable, repeatable evidence trail for household use, furniture, food and any care delivered away from home.
Keep attendance, invoices, shopping evidence and a short monthly calculation together; do not reconstruct the business proportion at year end.

Part of Making Tax Digital by business type.

Direct answer

If you are a self-employed childminder within MTD for Income Tax, HMRC's current guidance says you should keep digital records of self-employment income and expenses under the standard MTD rules. That matters because the historic childminder shortcuts for home costs, food and the 10% wear-and-tear deduction are not simply copied into an MTD spreadsheet. Instead, identify the actual cost and a reasonable business proportion where something is shared with your household.

This is not an instruction to claim every household bill or to use the same percentage for everything. A sofa used extensively in the childcare room, electricity during minded hours and food bought for children are different record problems. A good file explains what was bought, why it belongs to the service, what part was personal, and how the calculation was made. It gives an accountant a practical starting point rather than an annual estimate with no trail.

What changed, and what did not

HMRC still says childminders can claim relief for genuine business expenses. The change is in how a childminder inside MTD supports certain shared costs. HMRC's specific March 2026 page says a childminder in MTD can claim the actual business cost of furniture and household items, and a reasonable business percentage of household costs. Its manual explains that the older childminder agreement is not the method used once the childminder is within MTD.

That does not mean your attendance register has become obsolete. It is more valuable: it supports the hours, rooms and services behind your calculation. A cashbook, bank feed or software entry records the amount. Attendance, invoices and a short monthly note explain why a share was business-related. If you provide care partly at a community hall or outdoors, keep those hours and venue costs separate from time using your own home.

Build four expense folders, not one vague 'home costs' total

Household running costs: retain bills for electricity, gas, metered water and other variable home costs. Record the method used to identify the business share, such as minded hours and rooms genuinely used.
Fixed household costs: keep council-tax, rent or mortgage-interest evidence distinct. Whether and how a proportion is claimed needs a sensible method; do not assume a running-cost calculation automatically applies unchanged.
Furniture and household items: keep the invoice, description, location, purchase date and business-use note for a sofa, carpet, safety gate or replacement item. A shared family item needs a proportion, not a claim for its full price.
Food and consumables: keep a recurring food record separate from your own household shop. Where food is shared, note how you reached a reasonable childcare share. Supplies, craft materials, nappies where provided and cleaning items need their own business-purpose notes.

A fifth folder is useful where you work outside home: hall hire, travel, equipment carried to sessions and the part of your income connected to non-domestic care. Do not let those costs inflate a home-use percentage just because the work is all called childminding.

A monthly evidence routine that survives a query

At the end of each month, export or save your attendance summary. Note normal home-based caring hours, rooms used and unusual changes such as holidays, a temporary hall booking or a room being unavailable. Save the main household bills and record the calculation you used. Then file the relevant shopping receipts, highlighting the childcare-only items and making a short note where a mixed receipt is split.

For example, Maya minds children from her converted dining room for 32 hours most weeks and uses it at weekends with her family. She keeps the utility bill, attendance total, a note of the room and hours method, and invoices for a safety gate and washable floor covering. In another month she uses a village hall for two afternoons: the hall invoice is separately recorded rather than treated as home use. Her accountant can then review the method and costs with the facts visible.

Contrast that with buying a '500 family sofa and entering '500 as 'childminder equipment'. The stronger record states the purchase, where it sits, estimated business use and why the proportion is reasonable. If the treatment is unclear, pause and ask before filing the quarter rather than guessing.

Records to gather

Attendance registers, contracted-session records and a private child reference rather than unnecessary personal data in bookkeeping.
Utility bills, council-tax/rent or mortgage-interest evidence, and the monthly calculation note.
Furniture, safety equipment, toys, books and cleaning receipts, with a business-use explanation.
Food and drink record, receipts where relevant and a note supporting the childcare share of mixed shopping.
Hall or community-centre invoices, mileage/travel records and dates worked away from home.
MTD software export, cashbook, bank statements and invoices or payment reports for fees.

Common mistakes

Do not keep using a pre-MTD percentage because it feels familiar without checking whether you are now in MTD. Do not claim both an old 10% furniture allowance and a replacement cost for the same logic. Do not treat the number of enrolled children as proof of utility usage where attendance is available. And do not lose the difference between a business cost and a personal improvement to your home.

Food needs care too. 'Family shop' is not enough detail if a material amount is claimed. A short contemporaneous split is normally far easier to defend than an estimate prepared after the tax year. Where the amount is significant or the home/work mix is unusual, get an accountant to review it.

Questions for an accountant

Am I actually in MTD for this year, and which childminder methods are still available to me?
What is a reasonable method for my rooms, hours and mixed household costs?
How should furniture replacements and shared household items be recorded?
What food evidence is proportionate for my service and how should I retain it digitally?
How should I separate home-based care from hall, school or community-centre work?

Key takeaway

MTD does not remove childminder expense relief. It makes the evidence and method more important. Keep a small monthly pack showing the cost, business use and reason for the allocation, then an accountant can test the approach before it becomes a year-end problem.

Official sources checked on 11 August 2026

Frequently asked questions

Can a childminder in MTD still use the old 10% wear-and-tear allowance?

HMRC's current guidance distinguishes the standard MTD expense approach from the older childminder arrangement. Check your MTD position and ask an accountant to review the method before claiming.

Does MTD mean every household bill is a business cost?

No. Where a cost is shared, retain a reasonable business-use method and supporting evidence. The fact that you work from home does not make the full household bill allowable.