Looking for advice about childcare, tax credits and benefits

homeplace

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting on these forums so I apologise if I post in the wrong place or break any rules.

I'm in a bit of a dark place at the moment with money worries. My partner is due to go back to work in a few weeks after having 9 months off for maternity leave. We've managed to get by on the £140 per week statutory pay but that will end next week. After doing the maths we have worked out that her working full time will actually leave us in a worse financial situation due to the high prices of childcare.

I'd love more than anything for her to not work, especially after seeing how depressed she is getting about leaving our baby and having to work again.

I don't really understand what we may be entitled to even after doing the gov website forms. What should I be aiming for? Working tax credits? Childcare vouchers?

Do you feel that we would be in a better financial situation if my partner would not return to work but claim benefits / universal credit? Would we be entitled to it?

I'm sorry this is really vague but it's terribly confusing for me and my partner.

Some financial details:

- I earn £27k per year and my partner earns £8 per hour working 35 hours per week.
- We currently rent
- We have a 8.5 month old baby
- I am trying to reduce our monthly outgoings and have been reading lots of "debt free wannabe" threads and will be posing on there at some point

Thank you,
homeplace

TheShape

To get some idea about what you may be entitled to, try the following link to a benefit calculator:

https://www.entitledto.co.uk

colsten

There is also https://www.turn2us.org.uk/

Dobbibill

Hi - Welcome to the forum.


Some good links above - your post may also get a more tailored response in The Benefits & Tax Credits section of the forum.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=139


Perhaps one of the BGs for this board can move it.


There's a sticky with lots of links for some research too. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1215/useful-links



All the best.

Mnd

Presumably you already get child benefit, and if your wife doesn't return to work then she will be able to transfer her married couples tax allowance to you, that's about £15 a month I believe.
If she stays at home then child care won't be an issue.
I can't say about anything else, your income is approximately the same as my wife's and we don't qualify for anything else I don't think (I don't work, too early for state pension, but no children, well 1 buts he's 29 tomorrow!)
Let us know how you get on, good luck

xylophone

Would it be possible for your wife to work evening/weekend shifts (possibly part time) so that you could take over child care?