Childcare Tax Breaks Worth Thousands Proposed

With all the drama surrounding the way in which the coalition Government has brought in, as well as handled, the changes to Child Benefit, new proposals are being announced today as part of a mid-term review. Of the changes is a a new scheme to replace the current Childcare Voucher and Allowances schemes.

Flat Rate Tax Allowance For Childcare

The new allowance is still being worked out (finalised next week)  but indications are that working women will become entitled to claim an additional tax allowance of up to £2,000 per child every year to cover the cost of childcare. The Government commissioned a report last Summer to investigate the costs on families of childcare and the stress on childcare providers to take on current demand. This revealed the current workforce could be increased by one million women currently deterred by monetary factors. It also showed that rules on how many children a nursery can be in charge of may need to be relaxed to allow economies of scale, bringing down costs. A Barnardo's charity report claims providing an allowance to people in these circumstances will do much to remove situations where parents work to meet childcare costs and have almost nothing left over.