Childcare benefits?

delete123

Hi,

My ex wife claims all the benefit entitlements for our young son.(Child benefit, Child tax credit etc) Which i'm fine with as she requires it more than i do. I Have my son at least 2/3 days/nights a week and pay my fair share towards his upbringing. He now goes to nursery two mornings a week for which i'm paying for. I have been told that i would be able to claim a form of tax credits for this but when i spoke to HMRC they said i couldn't as I wasn't the one claiming Child tax credit for him. Does anybody know the correct position on this? I'm not entitled to any other form of benefit as i'm ever so slightly over the threshold.

Thanks

delete123

Yes, she does. She works a childminder so hours can vary week on week.

zagfles

She gets all the benefits and presumably maintenance off you, so she should be paying the nursery bill surely. She may be able to get the childcare element of tax credits if she works 16 hours.

Icequeen99

blondebubbles wrote: »

Depending on her income etc she may be able to claim the childcare costs then she could give this to you to help pay?

From tax credit manual - Note: Any childcare costs paid by a third party - for example, a grandparent or ex-partner - and which are reimbursed by the customer are treated as being paid and may be claimed.

That's an interesting quote from the TCTM. I'm thinking out loud here, does that only apply in a situation where the TC claimant is using the childcare, but the bill is paid by someone else? Or would it apply if on the two days the OP has the child, he uses childcare, the ex-partner could claim the childcare element.

Interesting.

IQ

delete123

Thanks all for your help. I dont pay any maintenance as such, to her as I have have him slightly less than half the the time anyway and am more than happy to provide funds for him as and when its required. As shes a childminder she has limitations on the number of children she can have at anyone time. As i work a three week rota it makes things difficult because when im working and she has the boy she then 'loses' have a paying child.

I was just curious really to get a definite answer.

Icequeen99

So who puts him in childcare? Is it when you have him and you have to work or is it when she has him and she needs to work?

IQ

zagfles

Icequeen99 wrote: »

So who puts him in childcare? Is it when you have him and you have to work or is it when she has him and she needs to work?

IQ

Would it make any difference? What I'd suggest is that rather than the OP paying for the nursery directly, the OP pays his ex maintenance and his ex pays the nursery - this should be surely be all above board and allowed whoever takes the child to the nursery?

After all a single parent working 16 hours can claim for childcare at times when she's not even working, AIUI.

Icequeen99

zagfles wrote: »

Would it make any difference? What I'd suggest is that rather than the OP paying for the nursery directly, the OP pays his ex maintenance and his ex pays the nursery - this should be surely be all above board and allowed whoever takes the child to the nursery?

After all a single parent working 16 hours can claim for childcare at times when she's not even working, AIUI.

I agree, you can claim for any childcare not just when you are working.

I have seen two Tribunal cases where HMRC argued that the claimant was not 'incurring' the childcare charges and therefore could not claim them.

So taking the manual example, I can see how if a claimant had contracted for childcare, but an ex was paying the bill but refunded by the claimant then that would be ok.

But I think there could be an issue if the claimant isn't the one contracting for the childcare or needing it - because I think they could find it difficult to show they are 'incurring' childcare charges if they are not paying them.

IQ

dippy3103

You don't say how old your son is? Does your ex use up the 15 hours a week he gets for pre school / nursery from age 3?