What are childcare vouchers ?
Childcare vouchers are part of the "salary sacrifice" scheme.
Put simply, childcare vouchers allow you to pay part of your nannies salary or your child's nursery fees with income exempt from Tax and National Insurance, therefore saving you a little bit of money each week.
The maximum value of childcare vouchers you can use per month to pay for childcare is £243. These childcare vouchers will only technically cost you £173 as you do not have to pay tax or National Insurance on the £243.
For the basic-rate taxpayer this means savings of up to £962 per year. Higher-rate taxpayers can save up to £1,196 per year.
To qualify for childcare vouchers your nanny must be registered with Ofsted. To be registered your nanny must hold a UK childcare qualification & current peadiatric first aid certificate – her first aid certificate will have an expiration date on it so you will know if it is valid.
If your nanny does not hold a UK childcare qualification s/he is able to complete a two day childcare induction course.
These courses cost between £100 and £260 & registration with Ofsted is £105 per year. The Ofsted registration includes the cost of a CRB disclosure. Even if your nanny holds a current CRB disclosure s/he still needs to complete one with Ofsted.
Your nanny must re-register with Ofsted annually.
For you to qualify for childcare vouchers your employer needs to be registered with a company who supply the vouchers.
Even if your nanny is not yet registered with Ofsted you may be able to start collecting vouchers which you can then pay your nanny with once she is registered. Not every childcare voucher provider allows for this but some, including Busy Bees Childcare Vouchers, do.
There is no limit to how much a nanny can be paid weekly in childcare vouchers – only parents are limited by their childcare voucher allowance (£55 per week).
A child qualifies for childcare vouchers up to the 1st of September following their 15th birthday or if the child is disabled up to the 1st of September following their 16th birthday.
For more information visit:
Busy Bee's Childcare Vouchers
