Can I get help with childcare costs?
If you are a working parent with children under the age of 16, you could be eligible to request non-taxable and exempt from National Insurance Contribution Childcare Vouchers up to the value of £55 per week (£243 per month). Childcare vouchers can be used to pay for the following forms of registered childcare; day nurseries, childminders, before and after school clubs, au pairs and even holiday clubs for school age children. There are a number of different organisations operating childcare voucher schemes for employers Childcare voucher schemes are: Busy Bees – For more information you can call 08000 430 860 or visit website www.busybeesvoucher.com Accor – For more information you can call0845 3304406 or visit website www.childcarevouchers.co.uk If your employer does not offer a childcare voucher scheme, it is advisable to talk to them abouth the benefits to employees in the savings (tax & National Insurance contributions) they can make. Ask them to investigate running a scheme at your
If you have to pay for childcare for your children whilst you are at work, you may get help with with the childcare costs through Working Tax Credits. Find out more on the HM Revenue & Customs website. You may also be able to pay for your childcare straight from your wages. if you do this, you won’t have to pay Income Tax on the amount of childcare you pay for. This is normally paid as vouchers. Find out more about childcare vouchers on Moneysavingexpert.com. Childcare vouchers may affect your entitlement to both the childcare element of Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. To help you decide whether you would be better off with Tax Credits or childcare vouchers, visit the HM Revenue & Customs website. If you claim help with your rent or Council Tax through Housing Benefits, they may also be eligible for help with the costs of childcare. You may be entitled to extra Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit if you are working full-time and pay a registered childminder, or other profe
You may be entitled to financial help via child tax credits. Tax credits can help families with children or those who need help paying for childcare. Nine out of ten families with children are eligible for the new tax credits. Find out if you are eligible for child tax credit If you are a student you may also find it useful to take a look at the Childcare support for students section which offers information on the various kinds of financial support and grants you may be entitled to. Alternatively, why not take a look at the Inland Revenue website or the DirectGov website?
