Child Care Vouchers !

[UkMum2b]

Hi

Just thought I would share this as I only heard about this the other day. Maybe you all know and it's just me that was slow on the uptake, but I thought I'd mention it in case anyone else didn't know.

Some companies (in the UK) allow you to get the benifit of a tax allowance scheme where you can be paid up to £243 a month, in childcare vouchers, which can be used at any Ofsted Nursery. These are deducted from your salary, prior to tax, so you can save up to £904 a year in tax if you use the full allowance.

This allowance is per parent / gaurdian so even if your company don't offer it, your partners compay might so it's worth getting them to check.

You can do this each, saving up tp £1800 a year!

How did I not know about this before... anyway thought I would just share this in case anyone else wasn't aware.

If your company don't offer it, you could always send your HR dept this link and see if they might consider it...

https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/childcare/childcarefactsheet.htm

 

[Mum2MJ]

Just to add that a lot of registered childminders etc sign up to this, not just nurseries. My husband and I both make full use of this scheme, it is very user friendly too

 

[Tadan]

I don't need this right now but it's very useful to know, thanks

 

[Birdie747]

Oooh, thanks for the heads up. Heard something about it a while ago but will definitely look into it

 

[PeanutBean]

There is a balance in income between the vouchers and childcare element of working tax credits. Usually higher earners are better off using the vouchers and lower earners using wtc. I think you can find calculators somewhere online that will give you an idea of which will work best for your salary.

If you use vouchers you can't claim the childcare element. You can also only claim this is both parents (or a single parent) work at least 16 hours a week.

There are also issues around the vouchers. It's a salary sacrifice scheme and it may be that your pension contribution and any pay rises you receive are applied to your salary AFTER your voucher money has been taken out. It's important to talk through all these things with your employer.