can we claim childcare tax credit even though only 1 is working?

katiesmummy

i am due to start college in september to do an access to nursing course, and now that my timetable has been confirmed am looking for childcare for my ds.

i am now not working after being laid off last week as my boss couldnt afford to pay me any more. at the moment i am not looking for work as my oh is working away a lot and as i work nights it is very difficult to get someone to have my ds while i am working.

can we still claim childcare tax credit even though oh is the only one who is working? the childcare would be for me to study so not sure if we would still be able to get it iykwim

bestpud

Not normally, no. You both need to be working 16 hours or more.

I don't know if you can get help through your college. Once you get to uni, you may be able to get help via student finance - but that's not much help now.

Can your OH get childcare vouchers through work? Or see if the college have a nursery as they often do cheaper rates for students but you have to apply very early to get a place at many.

katiesmummy

bestpud wrote: »

Not normally, no. You both need to be working 16 hours or more.

I don't know if you can get help through your college. Once you get to uni, you may be able to get help via student finance - but that's not much help now.

Can your OH get childcare vouchers through work? Or see if the college have a nursery as they often do cheaper rates for students but you have to apply very early to get a place at many.

i have applied for a place at the nursery but haven't heard anything back yet- i chased yesterday so hopefully will hear something soon.

i was going to get partial funding through my local council as oh doesnt earn a great deal but i had a letter from them this morning saying that they are no longer providing childcare funding for year-long courses.

oh has asked before about the childcare vouchers- he works with a small company of painters and they said no.

Kimitatsu

Bestpud is right, unless both of you work 16 hours a week you dont get help with childcare costs. More can be found in this leaflet:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc5.pdf

However if you worked 16 hours a week (say one day at the weekend and a couple of hours in the evenings) then you would qualify. It may be worth your while to do that.

astralbee

Is there any council run nursery projects in your area? A Surestart Childrens Centre, perhaps? Sorry I have no idea about placement in these schemes, but you have to ask about because the Tax Credit rules are quite clear, you wont get any help unless you both work.

Info about Surestart here that I can't be bothered to read.

katiesmummy

Kimitatsu wrote: »

Bestpud is right, unless both of you work 16 hours a week you dont get help with childcare costs. More can be found in this leaflet:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc5.pdf

However if you worked 16 hours a week (say one day at the weekend and a couple of hours in the evenings) then you would qualify. It may be worth your while to do that.

at the moment i cant as my oh is working away- sometimes he comes home friday to sunday sometimes he will only come home for one night so its really not practical right now! he will hopefully have finished this job in a month (i think) in which case i will start looking for work again at that time.

i dont have anybody else who could look after ds for me- his grandad is ok for a couple of hours but thats it- and he has a very hectic social life for a 67 year old including 2 girlfriends!

katiesmummy

astralbee wrote: »

Is there any council run nursery projects in your area? A Surestart Childrens Centre, perhaps? Sorry I have no idea about placement in these schemes, but you have to ask about because the Tax Credit rules are quite clear, you wont get any help unless you both work.

Info about Surestart here that I can't be bothered to read.

already looked into that one- all the children's centres in my area have a waiting list of at least a year!!! have put ds name down so maybe something will come up- never know!

i think we are just going to have to pay the childcare in full till i get work again, cant really see any other way around it unfortunately.

thanks for your helpe everyone- wasnt really what i wanted to hear, but that's life!

bestpud

Financially, you may be better off with a childminder, as the rates are often cheaper and they tend to be more flexible with hours. With nurseries, you can end up paying for a full day when you only need two hours, if they happen to hit the morning/afternoon switch over period, for example.

Maybe you can get some 'bank' work once you start your course - it will look good for when you apply to uni, bring in some extra cash (even if not enough hours to qualify you for childcare help), and best of all, you can do the hours you want? I think many have a waiting list so it may be worth looking into that now, if you haven't already.

katiesmummy

bestpud wrote: »

Financially, you may be better off with a childminder, as the rates are often cheaper and they tend to be more flexible with hours. With nurseries, you can end up paying for a full day when you only need two hours, if they happen to hit the morning/afternoon switch over period, for example.

Maybe you can get some 'bank' work once you start your course - it will look good for when you apply to uni, bring in some extra cash (even if not enough hours to qualify you for childcare help), and best of all, you can do the hours you want? I think many have a waiting list so it may be worth looking into that now, if you haven't already.

bank work, do you mean like support work in a care home or suchlike?

bestpud

katiesmummy wrote: »

bank work, do you mean like support work in a care home or suchlike?

Yes that too, but I was thinking more in your local hospital.

katiesmummy

bestpud wrote: »

Yes that too, but I was thinking more in your local hospital.

thank you, thats a great idea- as you said, it would help with my applications for uni, and i would be able to pick my hours.

i will look into it definately