Tax Credits - estimating childcare costs

Pipx

I am due to start work and currently claim child tax credits. I will start having childcare costs for the first time. My childcare costs will be £22 a week during term time, and will vary during the school holidays depending on how many days I or my husband can take off work. For example, some holiday weeks I will need to put the children in childcare 4 days a week (cost = £168), another week it may be 2 days a week (cost £84). I read on the HMRC website to add up childcare costs over the whole year and divide by 52 to get a weekly average. If I estimate that I will need to use on average 3 days childcare per week of school holiday this puts my annual costs at £2370, divided by 52 = £45 a week. But they then tell me that I must let them know if my weekly childcare costs drop below my estimated weekly average (they will drop below this most of the time as during term time my costs are only £22 a week). Totally confused - what am I supposed to do? Update them every time my childcare costs change i.e at start and end of each school holiday period?

sheramber

It is if the average cost varies.

See here for examples http://revenuebenefits.org.uk/pdf/WTC5.pdf page 16