WORKING parents battling stinging childcare costs are missing out on vital support.
It comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt this week raised the earnings level at which families can receive full child benefit payments.
3
It gives more parents cash toward childcare.
But there are lots of other ways to ease the burden.
Laura Purkess and Lana Clements explain how to get all the help you can . . .
CHILD BENEFIT
HUNDREDS of thousands of mums and dads will be saved from an “unfair” tax charge on their child benefit, the Government confirmed this week.
Read More on Money
The benefit is currently £24 a week for the eldest child, £15.90 a week for additional children, and will rise next month.
Under current rules, parents who earn more than £50,000 must pay back one per cent of child benefit for every £100 of income they earn over that sum, on a sliding scale up to earnings of £60,000.
The bill matches the amount of child benefit they receive, essentially cancelling it out.
But from April 6 this year, the lower threshold will be increased to £60,000 and the upper cap will rise to £80,000.
Most read in Money
Sarah Coles at financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown says: “Parenting is getting more rewarding, because from April 6, half a million higher-earning parents will lose less of their child benefit — and 170,000 will have it all reinstated.
“And in the coming tax year, child benefit rises to £25.60 for the first child, £16.95 for a second or subsequent child. This can make a real difference.”
Huge child benefit change to save thousands of parents from ‘unfair’ tax charge, Jeremy Hunt confirms
UP TO 30 HOURS OF FREE CHILDCARE
THE number of hours working parents can claim depends on the age of their child.
If the child is three or four years old, you can get up to 30 hours’ free childcare.
If your child is two, you can get 15 hours next month.
And from September, parents of children from nine months to three years will be able to claim 15 hours.
To qualify, you’ll need to earn at least the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage for 16 hours a week.
CHILDCARE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT
PARENTS getting Universal Credit and in a paid job can have up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs covered, up to £951 a month for one child and £1,630 a month for two or more children.
It doesn’t matter how many hours you work.
If you live with a partner, you both need to work to qualify.
You usually have to pay for the childcare and claim back the costs, but if this is a struggle you might get help through the Flexible Support Fund.
3
TAX-FREE CHILDCARE
PARENTS get an extra £2 from the Government for every £8 paid into their tax-free childcare account, up to £2,000 a child a year.
For disabled children, the limit is £4,000 a year.
Nursery fees, childminders and even summer holiday camps can be paid through tax-free accounts.
Almost 500,000 families used tax-free childcare for their kids in November 2023, according to the latest HMRC data.
But in 2021, the Government estimated there were 1.3million families eligible — meaning almost one in two of those who could be claiming are missing out on this lucrative perk.
GRANDPARENTS
THEY can be life-savers when it comes to childcare — and could get a pension boost in order to claim this perk.
Parents who give up work to look after children under 12 automatically get parents’ credits, which contribute towards their National Insurance (NI) record.
Note that you need to build up at least 35 years of NI in order to be able to claim the full new state pension.
But if grandparents are taking care of the kids while parents go to work, they can transfer these credits over.
That means grandparents with a gap in their NI record could boost their state pension income.
See gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-specified-adult-childcare-credits for more information.
3
FLEXIBLE WORKING
JOB shares, compressed hours and adjusted start and finish times are among ways employers can help parents manage childcare needs.
From next month, all workers have the right to request flexible working, from when they start a new job.
Under outgoing rules, employees had to wait 26 weeks.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
You will also be able to make two formal requests in a 12-month period from April 6.
Your employer must consider the pros and cons of a request and also must have a meeting with you to discuss the proposal.
‘Childminding lets me work and also look after my son’
MUM-of-one Kate Jenkins decided to retrain as a childminder to save on childcare costs.
The former environmental consultant, who lives in Salisbury with her partner Jason, 32 and son Jayden, 17 months, decided to switch careers while on maternity leave last year.
She now charges £7 an hour to look after up to two other children, under four years old, at any one time.
Kate, 31, says: “I loved my old job but the exorbitant cost of childcare meant it just wasn’t feasible to keep working.
“I retrained as a childminder with Tiney and it allows me to earn an income caring for Jayden myself, rather than working and barely having anything left over after the nursery fees.”
