Changes to childcare payments from a company

Sadly, albeit the article is not that old. However, there have been changes to the tax system. There have been changes to childcare tax-free benefits and payments made on your behalf from your employer / limited company.

Scheme 1 – Free childcare

All 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get free early education or childcare. All children in England get 570 free hours per year. It’s usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. You can get it from the term after your child’s 3rd birthday. You may be able to get up to 30 hours of free childcare (1,140 hours per year, which you can choose how you take).

If you’re eligible for the extra hours, you sign up online to get a code to give to your childcare provider to reserve your place. You’ll get the extra hours once the next term starts. You will need to register for the childcare account if you are using the 30 hours of free education. To get the 30 hours of free education you do need to be working with minimum wage but cannot earn more than £100,000.

A lesson to be learned is that you do need to ask the school a few times to see if they will accept the 30-hour ruling. I know that the school my son attends will only provide 15 hours of free schooling. Please do bear in mind that the free schooling is not mandatory for private schools.

If your child is over 5, the childcare must be outside school hours and on the school premises.

Scheme 2 – Tax free childcare

Before 1st October 2018 as highlighted in the aforementioned article that your employer / limited company could contribute towards your childcare. This would have been in the form of vouchers to pay for nannies, nursery, out of school clubs etc.

After 1st October 2018 if you are not already registered in the old scheme you can still get financial support from your employer / limited company but there are different rules and amounts that you need to consider.

You can get up to £500 every 3 months (£2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. If you get Tax-Free Childcare, the government will pay £2 for every £8 you pay your childcare provider via an online account. Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme before you can benefit from Tax-Free Childcare.

Check with your provider to see if they’re signed up for you to use this service.

You can get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as 30 hours free childcare if you’re eligible for both.

See government website for more details on both schemes. You can apply for both schemes using the government link.

If you are looking to grow or maintain a successful business then you need to look at ways in which you can get support. This support will come from the government in order for you to look after your children. It is no fun for a child that wishes to play with you but have to watch you in front of a laptop or on the phone.

Do it for them and do it for you.

Disclaimer:
This guide was written specifically for Smart Accounting clients. Some of the information contained in this guide might not be applicable if you do not have a business managed by Smart Accounting. By necessity, this briefing can only provide a short overview and it is essential to seek professional advice before applying the contents of this article. No responsibility can be taken for any loss arising from action taken or refrained from on the basis of this publication. Details are correct at time of writing.