Reply to: Childcare Vouchers & Providers

[psychocandy]

Not in London. Full time nursery is over £1k per month. How much were your nursery costs?

£4 an hour I pay for childminder. So £32 a day, three half days a week at the moment (mines 3 so school every am).

[psychocandy]

The only issue with this is that you can accrue vouchers from birth, but you can't pay for childcare directly in the initial months when no childcare is being provided.

Good point. Its worth accruing them like this I guess.

In my case, childcare costs each month are roughly about the same as the max anyway so no issue for me.

[Lance]

Basic earnings assessment for childcare vouchers is based on "relevant earnings" which does not include dividends or other savings income.

The BEA should be done annually too.

Childcare Vouchers and the Basic Earnings Assessment 2012/13 | Payroll News and advice from Payroll Help

Just looked back over emails from the accountant. And I got it wrong. He had said the same about BEA as you are.
This is why I have an accountant

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

according to my accountant it does

Basic earnings assessment for childcare vouchers is based on "relevant earnings" which does not include dividends or other savings income.

The BEA should be done annually too.

http://www.payroll-help.com/2012/03/...efits-and-bea/

[Lance]

Doesn't include dividends though.

according to my accountant it does

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Not forgetting that if you go into higher tax rate then the amount you can claim tax free is half that value.

Doesn't include dividends though.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

You don't need childcare vouchers. Just get the childcare provider to invoice your company for £55 per week and you pay the balance personally. Oh, and congratulations.

Only problem with this is that the childcare provider may not be willing to do this.

Also by having a voucher scheme you can accrue the vouchers and use them later.

I set my own scheme up.

[Lance]

so 243*9 =2187 (assuming 9 months of maternity leave) was "far more than you needed" to cover almost 4 years of nursery @ £800/mo?

and when they reach 3 yo they get a load of free care, and you can still get full vouchers. They they start school.
You may end up with unused vouchers.
And I have a wife who claimed full vouchers from her employee.

Do your own maths. But we have a few k in vouchers that'll last us (paying for afterschool clubs) for years.
Same rule applies as to all planning. Do your own maths and understand the assumptions you make and their impact.

[pr1]

c. £800 a month

so 243*9 =2187 (assuming 9 months of maternity leave) was "far more than you needed" to cover almost 4 years of nursery @ £800/mo?

[Lance]

Not in London. Full time nursery is over £1k per month. How much were your nursery costs?

c. £800 a month

[minstrel]

But once they're created they're created forever (until claimed on) - so you can never convert them back to "cash" (comparing to edenred etc) - how do you account for that in the company to make sure you aren't "fraudulently" claiming tax relief?

Vouchers are offset against CT. If you were to ever cash them in, the transaction would be reversed and CT would become payable.

[minstrel]

Take it from someone who had a child in full time child care from the second her mother finished maternity leave..... accruing the full amount from childbirth is far more than you need.

Not in London. Full time nursery is over £1k per month. How much were your nursery costs?

[pr1]

The only issue with this is that you can accrue vouchers from birth, but you can't pay for childcare directly in the initial months when no childcare is being provided.

But once they're created they're created forever (until claimed on) - so you can never convert them back to "cash" (comparing to edenred etc) - how do you account for that in the company to make sure you aren't "fraudulently" claiming tax relief?

[eek]

Take it from someone who had a child in full time child care from the second her mother finished maternity leave..... accruing the full amount from childbirth is far more than you need.

Don't you mean even accruing the full amount from birth isn't enough to pay the full bill.

[Lance]

The only issue with this is that you can accrue vouchers from birth, but you can't pay for childcare directly in the initial months when no childcare is being provided.

Take it from someone who had a child in full time child care from the second her mother finished maternity leave..... accruing the full amount from childbirth is far more than you need.