Childcare vouchers

[Stimpy]

As a permie (currently), my employer offers a salary sacrifies scheme, which is tax free upto a value of £217. Hence I save about 40%.
No doubt if you have you're own limited company you could sacrifies some of your Salary and get the Vouchers tax free.
Obviously not usefull if you don't have kids, but for those who have to fork out for child care anyway, thats a saving of £86 a month or just over a grand a year.
parasol are apparently considering a similar scheme at the moment

[zmp]

I'm sure you could run a scam with your friendly local childminder whereby you give them the voucher, they keep a percentage and then give you back the rest and you palm the kids off with family.

Under the pre April 05 scheme family (i.e. grandparents, aunties but not parents or step parents) could be paid with vouchers. Is that now different? Why can't they become registered if that's what it needs?

[zmp]

£50 each parent

I was claiming childcare vouchers through my employer (a county council) for the full amount of nursery fees cost before last April - at that time you just avoided NI and superann on it but it saved over £700 per year that way.

Then in April the law changed and there was a max of £50 a week but each parent could claim £50 and it was tax free. Hubby is the one who's self employed - we have a partnership - and we were told he (self empl people) couldn't get his entitlement. Seemd unfair...

All kids now at school so no need any more but interested to know if anyone knows otherwise - should he have been able to claim his bit? Could we claim retrospectively?

[ladymuck]

I'm sure you could run a scam with your friendly local childminder whereby you give them the voucher, they keep a percentage and then give you back the rest and you palm the kids off with family.

[SameOldStory]

Interestingly (and conveniently), the childcare voucher scheme rules say the £50 weekly limit is per employee, not per child or per household.

So if both husband and wife work for the same Ltd co. then the company can provide childcare of £50 each per week, even if it is used for the same child.

[boredsenseless]

looked into it a bit more, and the carer has to be offically registered...not just mum and dad....

damn

You seriously thought you could get 50 quid just for looking after kids - OMG!!

What do you think Child Benefit is for, Tax Credits etc and the choice to have them in the first place!!! (and BTW I do have kids so its not a bitter childless man complaining about having to support people who have kids)

[malvolio]

OK, but going back to the original question, if you pay it as an employee benefit you'd have to declare is as a Benefit in Kind, which might be more bother than it's worth if the recipient isn't a taxpayer (or a bog-standard base rate one) 'cos they'd have to start filling inn SA forms. Might be an idea to check with an accountant, just to be sure.

[YNWA]

looked into it a bit more, and the carer has to be offically registered...not just mum and dad....

damn

[DGA]

My LTD company provides childcare vouchers of £50 to a company employee.

[YNWA]

but wouldnt it be a case of providing £55 a week (of turnover) to employee for childcare? tax free?

Like a subsistence claim?

[malvolio]

Ermmm - you don't actually think You and YourCo are the same thing, do you? I hope not, or you're in a for a nasty surprise one day...

[YNWA]

Has anyone heard of this new childcare voucher scheme? Is it possible to claim this tax free amount through your company (one man Ltd Company?).