People with kids.

e_python

Hello

I am married with 2 kids one is 5 and the other has just turned 2. My wife had to give up work to looks after our kids.

We do not receive any benefits except child allowance.

I work quite hard and earn a over 32k.

Can we get any benefits as we would like to send out little one to the nursery for a 2-3 days a week.

Is there ANY help at all available to us or is everything means tested?

Queenie

Do you get the Tax Credit that replaced married tax allowance?

Other than that, I don't think so - if there are, I shall be viewing this thread with bated breath

Fran

You can apply for Tax Credits. See Inland Revenue - Tax Credits online.

Rik_3

Does your employer offer a childcare voucher scheme.
That should save you about 9 - 11% on the nursery costs, fwiw.

Norma_Desmond

An income of £32K and you wonder if you're entitled to benefits? Wow, you should try being a childless married couple on a joint lower income than that.......we don't claim ANY benefits, and certainly wouldn't be entitled to anything if one of us lost our jobs; count yourselves lucky! Singles and childless couples are, at the moment, definately the most 'hard-done-by'.

lipidicman

Here here to that - also if you both have say £15k jobs you miss out on the tax-on-interest breaks a married man earning £100k+ gets by getting his wife to save the money - it is criminal.

Lyndsay_21

Well my boyf earns only £12,000 and we have to pay for daughter to go to nursery 2 mornings a week as i dont work.
I think your only entitled to help from tax credits childcare if you both work (which you dont) so i think you'll just have to splash out the dosh like we do, but it'll be worth every penny as he/she will love it.
Also the alternative would be do as we do and just do mornings or afternoons also i've found a lot of 'church' based nurseries are cheaper and sometimes better than 'day' nurseris dont let the 'church' part put you off they're not allowed to promote one religion they're normally just using the curch space.
If not wait until little one is 3 then you get 5 free sessions a week.

Miroslav

32k! Blimey!

That aside, we all pay, or have paid some sort of Tax/National Insurance, so if you are entitled to anything, I would go for it........although on 32k, It would be unlikely.......though this is the UK and anything is likely.....probably entitled to more than myself would be on Minimum Wage!

Spendless

Hi

You should be entitled to the family element of Child Tax Credits (£545pa) works out roughly £10 a week.

As someone has already said you can only get help via childcare costs on CTC if you both work at least 16 hours a week. Though you would then need to add your wifes salary to yours so you might not get any help via this route -depends on how high your childcare cost were.

You can get funding the term after their 3rd birthday which is non-means tested which you could use at a pre-school, private nursery.

If your employer offers childcare vouchers such as busy bee you can salary sacrifice upto £50 a week in return for £50 of childcare vouchers but that £50 is exempt from tax and NI.

You can use these vouchers in conjunction with the funding at 3 also.

mrcow

On £32k you should be entitled to the Child Tax Credit. Go to the Inland Revenue site Tax Credits section and fill in your detials to get an idea of what you'll entitled to.

Also, once your little one turns three, they will be entitled to a funded nursery/play group place for five sessions per week for 33 weeks per year. You need to check out the details with your chosen individual nursery/play group on what it will entitle them to. All three years olds are entitled to this regardless of circumstance.

The childcare voucher scheme as mentioned above should save you much more than the 11% mentioned, as they are a tax and NI free benefit which you are able to purchase through your employer. It's a new scheme that only came in April 2005, so it's worth asking your employer whether they are looking to introduce this.

Don't forget also to transfer any savings to your wife as she'll not pay tax on any interest from them.

If your partner is intending to look for part time work whilst your youngest is at nursery (like she's not got enough on her plate!), don't forget that she'll be entitled to Contribution Based Job Seekers Allowance providing that her NI contributions are all up to date.

mrcow

Sorry - was posting at the same time as Spendless Sorry for any repeat advice!!

It's good advice however!!!!