Childcare Costs discussion

wedgefish

I am a single Parent to Three young Children, My annual salary is £25,000 and I am currently paying a registered childminder £120 a week each to look after my children full time while I am at work. (£360 total a week)

I am currently using childcare vouchers which equate to £55 a week of the £360 bill, the remaining amount is subsidized though the childcare element of working Tax credits and my own expense.

My question is this new tax free childcare that is starting in April, will it have any effect on the childcare element of the working Tax credits?

regards David

rpc

Yes it will affect it. You will lose it.

You cannot claim any tax credits (or universal credit) while also claiming tax free childcare. It's part of the rules of the new scheme.

In general, claiming tax credits and vouchers is not a good idea because you gain less in vouchers than you lose in tax credits. I think, though, that you may be in the situation we were once in where your childcare costs are above the maximum allowance and so the vouchers have no impact on your entitlement.

mrbg07546

i am just been signed up to the tax free vouchers - so it means i have to quit my work vouchers. however i have missed the deadlinbe for payroll this month, so this will be the last month i can employee claim childcare vouchers. can i still claim the tax free childcarE, or should i wait for next month?

cellbar

Somewhere in all of the jargon and the eligibility criteria that I have read, it said that disabled carers would be 'catered for' in the 30 hour eligibility, is there anything more on this - or is there anything about kinship/lac eligibility? What happens if you are self employed but not able to drawer earnings from the business? How about if you are disabled but working in receipt of disability benefits?

These are all valid questions that are not really covered - trying to get through to HMRC is a nightmare - you just keep getting cut off and when you do get through you are told different things by different people!!

sheramber

http://www.tax-free-childcare.info/resources/childcare-vouchers-vs-tax-free-childcare/

Sameena01

I've read that you can't claim tax free childcare and childcare vouchers simultaneously. Is that per parent or as a family? Tax free childcare works out more benficial for me as my salary is higher, but my husbands salary is lower so it seems he'll get more back on childcare vouchers. Can we mix and match between us?

rpc

Sameena01 wrote: »

I've read that you can't claim tax free childcare and childcare vouchers simultaneously. Is that per parent or as a family? Tax free childcare works out more benficial for me as my salary is higher, but my husbands salary is lower so it seems he'll get more back on childcare vouchers. Can we mix and match between us?

It's per family. While vouchers were claimed and managed as individuals, the tax free childcare scheme is a family scheme.

If you register for tax free childcare then you must stop your husband's vouchers. End of story. You can continue to spend vouchers if you have an amount sitting in your account, but you cannot accrue any more after registering for tax free childcare.

EmmaRoberts200

My husband and I have 2 children and pay £300 a month childcare. We are both signed up to the salary sacrifice childcare vouchers. I don't earn enough to pay tax so even though I get vouchers I don't save anything as I don't pay tax. Is it possible for my husband to keep going with the childcare vouchers and I get the tax free childcare?
Thanks

MaryJoKel

Hi! Our baby is due at the end of October 2017. My husband and I wanted to join up to the childcare voucher scheme as we believe it would be more beneficial to us than the new Tax-Free Childcare scheme. However the voucher scheme ends in April 2018 which means I will miss the boat to join as apparently I cant join the scheme until I go back to work after maternity leave, which will be end of August 2018 at the earliest. So my questions are:

1. Can my husband still join the childcare voucher scheme once baby is born?
2. How much will he have to pay in? - our family income will be significantly reduced as I will be on maternity leave and so we cant afford to pay too much in each month until I go back to work.
3. Will I be able to join the Tax-Free Childcare scheme instead? If so when and how should I do this?
4. If i join the Tax-Free Childcare scheme, will my husband have to join up to that too and leave the childcare voucher scheme? Or can we be on different schemes?

Any advice/help is greatly received!!

Many thanks
Niamh

Mupette

Sameena01 wrote: »

I've read that you can't claim tax free childcare and childcare vouchers simultaneously. Is that per parent or as a family? Tax free childcare works out more benficial for me as my salary is higher, but my husbands salary is lower so it seems he'll get more back on childcare vouchers. Can we mix and match between us?

You do have a 3 month grace where you can have both.
You must get a letter from your childcare voucher company with the end date of the order cancellation,