Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert issues urgent reminder to thousands of parents to avoid missing out on free childcare
MARTIN Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert has issued a reminder to parents to ensure they do not miss out on free childcare.
Readers of the financial guru’s blog were told they have just weeks to go before they risk loosing out on an important cost cutting benefit.
The government has a number of schemes available for households to help with the financial burden of childcare costs.
One of these support measures includes up to 30 hours of free childcare a week for children aged between nine months to four years old in England.
Or this changes to between three to four years old in the rest of the UK.
The amount of relief you get depends on the age of your child.
If your child is:
- Three to four years old, you can get 30 hours per week of free childcare
- Nine months to two years old, you can get 15 hours per week of free childcare
Bu the money saving website has now urged parents to sign up now as the cut off point for applicants is fast approaching for the autumn term.
A post read: “Register for free childcare now. You’ve got till Aug 31 to register for up to 30 hours of ‘free’ childcare a week for the autumn term.
“Parents of children between the ages of three and four can get an additional 15 hours of funded childcare a week (totalling 30 hours a week or 1,140 a year), if they work and meet certain conditions. “
It added: “Councils should have their own cut-off points for application on their websites – typically these are 31 December for the spring term, 31 March for the summer term and 31 August for the autumn term.”
If you are keen to apply for this scheme it is important to remember that even though the childcare is free you may have to pay for extras.
These can include, nappies, meals and additional hours.
You will not be eligible for this scheme if your child does not usually live with you.
How do I apply?
Parents have until the August 31 to apply for the support ahead of the autumn term.
If you have not applied before you must make an account online.
You can do this by visiting the Gov.uk website.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
You’ll need your National Insurance Number or your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), if you’re self-employed, to hand when applying.
You’ll also need:
- The UK birth certificate reference number of any children you’re applying for
- The date you started or are due to start work (this can be approximate if more than 3 months ago)
After you do this you will get a code to give to your childcare provider.
The childcare must also be with a registered childminder, the government website also has information on what this looks like.
What other support is available?
Childcare costs are expensive so it is always good to be in the know about what you can claim.
These include:
Child benefit
You get child benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they are in approved education or training
The payment is used to help parents cover the costs of childcare.
It is paid at two weekly rates – £25.60 for your eldest or only child and £16.95 for any additional children.
Payments are usually made every four weeks, on a Monday or Tuesday, but sometimes are made weekly.
If you are claiming child benefit for a child under 12, you also receive National Insurance (NI) credits.
NICs count towards your State Pension so claiming the benefit can be useful if you are missing any.
Healthy start vouchers
If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four, you may be able to get help to buy healthy food and milk.
Families on Universal Credit can apply online if their take-home pay is £408 or less from employment.
If you get Child Tax Credit, you may be eligible for Healthy Start if:
- your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less
- you do not get Working Tax Credit
Tax-Free Chidcare
Parents can also get up to £2,000 a year for each of their children to help with the costs of childcare.
This goes up to £4,000 a year if your child is disabled.
This is a little-known benefit, with the money-saving blog warning that 800,000 parents are unaware the scheme exists.
To qualify, you or your partner need to be either employed or self-employed.
But remember you will not get the money in one lump sum.
If you are eligible for the scheme, you will then need to set up an online childcare account for your child.
For every £8 you pay into this account, the government will pay £2 to use to pay your provider.
For more information on setting up an account, you can visit the government website.
You can get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as 15 or 30 hours of free childcare if you’re eligible for both.
Your childcare provider must be signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and benefit from Tax-Free Childcare.
To avoid disappointments, check with your provider to see if they’re signed up.
Claim up to £1,739 of childcare costs each month
If you are on Universal Credit and also have a job you can claim up to £1,739 to put towards childcare costs.
The amount you can receive depends on the number of children you have.
Parents on Universal Credit with one child under 17 can claim up to £1,015 a month.
Meanwhile, parents of two or more children or more eligible for up to £1,739 to help pay for childcare costs – up from £950 and £1,630 respectively.
You normally need to pay for the child care costs first and then the money is given back to you within the month you report it.
Parents can claim back up to three months of past childcare costs at a time – but if you’re claiming for more than one month you might not get all the money back.
You can use the money to pay for holiday clubs, after-school clubs and breakfast clubs.
It is important to remember that if you live with a partner, you both need to be working unless your partner cannot look after your children.
If you are on tax credits you can also claim back up to 70% of childcare costs this way.