Childcare costs

[Belfa]

Hi

Could someone who is more savvy or who has looked in to this in more detail shed some light?

I have worked out my pro-rata salary if I were to go back to work for 3 days a week. I have also looked up local child minders and the going rate seems to be £4 /hour. Baby would need to be in care from 8am - 5pm when my DH could pick him up, I wouldn't get home until 6.30pm on the days I'd be working.

I calculated that, using my salary to pay for childcare, I would be left with £22.95 per day and would still need to pay £7 / day for my train out of that never mind lunch and petrol!

My work does offer child care vouchers and from what I understand that allows you to get £X tax free per year to put towards the child care? Is that correct? Realistically, how much better off does it make you? Is there anywhere that I can work out what my take home pay would be using this scheme?

I work for a small company who haven't needed to work this stuff out in over 5 years so I would be quicker doing it myself x

 

[heatheror12]

Hi
I work 3days (2 days in the week and 1 weekend where hubby has son). I am part of the childcare voucher scheme you can claim £55 per week tax free in vouchers. This comes out my wage as a salary sacrifice. I then pay £25 a week cash to nursery as my fees are £40 a day.
It's a expensive do !! But hope this helps xx

 

[Jenbob]

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/childcare-vouchers

Look at this site.. Hopefully it might help a little more! (Look at the chart at the bottom of the page) The childcare vouchers are going soon so if it works out better for you, sign up now! For me the new scheme is actually better so this is what I will be doing. I will be looking into childcare too. So depressing at the cost but I keep saying to myself it's only for a couple years until he starts nursery, and hopefully by then the new 30 hour free childcare that the conservatives promised will be brought in! That will help so much! Xxxx

 

[littlemonkey]

I understand that the childcare vouchers scheme is changing, but under the current scheme I save approx £50 per month by using the vouchers. It's not loads but a saving is a saving. If your OH's work offer the vouchers, then he can use them to save extra too.

 

[Pismo]

Belfa, I'm not great at this stuff at all. However, I do know that the childminder has to be registered in some way to enable you to use the childcare vouchers. My friend uses a nursery with her vouchers (three days a week) and that the saving is equal to one free day a month.

Reading back that doesn't sound like much tbh, maybe her nursery is really expensive though.

x

 

[Mary Poppins]

Childminders have to be registered with ofsted by law, and by being registered any can accept the childcare vouchers for up to £243 per month from each parent. This money is then taken out your salary before Tax is deducted, thus making it tax free money. Hope that helps x

 

[WTT_june 2014]

Hiya, I've just been looking into this through work. I actually found it easier to speak directly to the voucher provider as they were far more helpful than my employer.

So basically your childcare cost at £4p/h x 9hr x 3day would be £108 p/w with the childminder, but childcare vouchers you save tax & NI on that amount, which I think is approx 30%, so would actually only cost you £76. I assume you would have to pay for lunch wether at work or not? And if your getting the train is petrol such a big consideration?

You and your OH would have to purchase the vouchers as you can only buy max £243 each per month

Not sure if all voucher providers are the same but with mine you can only register once the child is born.

That said if you are only working 3 days a week at your salary you might not actually meet the tax threshold and therefore only be able to save about 10% on NI, would be best to get majority of vouchers out of OH salary if he is working full time. Then maybe work back from that how many days a week childcare that would buy you.

Jules

 

[Belfa]

Hiya, I've just been looking into this through work. I actually found it easier to speak directly to the voucher provider as they were far more helpful than my employer.

So basically your childcare cost at £4p/h x 9hr x 3day would be £108 p/w with the childminder, but childcare vouchers you save tax & NI on that amount, which I think is approx 30%, so would actually only cost you £76. I assume you would have to pay for lunch wether at work or not? And if your getting the train is petrol such a big consideration?

You and your OH would have to purchase the vouchers as you can only buy max £243 each per month

Not sure if all voucher providers are the same but with mine you can only register once the child is born.

That said if you are only working 3 days a week at your salary you might not actually meet the tax threshold and therefore only be able to save about 10% on NI, would be best to get majority of vouchers out of OH salary if he is working full time. Then maybe work back from that how many days a week childcare that would buy you.

Jules

Ah that makes sense, thank you! I was on the government website last night but it didn't work as baby isn't born yet obviously!

The pro-rata website I use is usually good but I think their daily salary is off as when I take what I'll get after tax / month and subtract the monthly childcare cost I'm left with around £800 per month.

I need to drive to the train station and yes need to buy lunch at work so that's another cost. Could reduce costs by taking a packed lunch but that never lasts long as if you do that you don't get to leave your desk all day (I'm not very disciplined at going out just for a walk).

DH had no idea about vouchers from his work. He used to be self employed and on a better salary but it wasn't secure enough so took a perm job at the start of the year. I could have probably given up work on his last salary, though we wouldn't have been flush. Ah well maybe he'll get a promotion or good bonus by the time I go back x

 

[littlemonkey]

It will depend entirely on what you and your partner earn, but if you work between 16 and 30 hours you may be eligible for working tax credits to contribute towards some of your child care costs too.

I don't get anything for being full time cos we both earn too much, but I am entitled to them if part time and paying for childcare. Although the whole reason I'm going part time is to not have to pay for childcare!!