Which do I get more saving: 5% off paying full term v. Part payment in childcare vouchers

[Dottyrainbow]

Hi I can't figure out following. I have the option to pay the nursery the following way:

1. pay whole term fees get 5% of usual fees. 5% is roughly £90 saving
   
2. part payment ie using months worth of childcare vouchers (£243) and rest paid normally but I cannot get 5% of as well.
   
   Which is better? I'm struggling.how would I figure out how much tax saved compared to 5% off.i hope I am making sense

[addictedtosugar]

The childcare voucher savings are here

Do you have a partner who can also claim childcare vouchers? If so, that is the best deal whatever you earn.

Can you work it all out from the link? How often is that £90 saving? Monthly or termly? It changes the answer, so I don't want to type further incase I've got that wrong!

[Dottyrainbow]

Addictedtosugar You're an absolute star:). I didn't know where to start figuring this and the link you sent has helped me. The £90 saving is per term(12 weeks)

If I'm working this out right I've divided the full year tax savings by 12 months and then x by 3 figure out for 3 months I.e. Roughly a term so by my calculation the tax saving is more. I hope this is right- I have always been terrible at maths!

Really, both parents can claim childcare vouchers? For some reason I thought it was only one parent.

[addictedtosugar]

Yes, yes yes, if the employer offers them BOTH parents can claim the vouchers. DH and I have both been claiming for years.

I'd do the maths. £90/term, 3 terms per year is £270/year savings for paying up front.

If you claim the full £243, that is £900/year saving.
If DH claims too, that is another £900/year saving BUT be careful here. I think 2432 parents12 months might come to more than your annual childcare bill.

Whatever, I think the vouchers are a better deal than advance payment.
And the biggest saving you can make will be to see if your OH can claim vouchers ;)

[Cleanandclothed]

Why not get the vouchers and save them up? Then maybe you could pay 2 terms in full and get the discount, and then pay the next entirely in vouchers. The vouchers last until the child is ?12? And can be used for after school clubs etc, so well worth getting them if you can

[breatheslowly]

Can you save up your vouchers and use them to pay for a whole term in one go, getting a 5% discount?

[Dottyrainbow]

Addictedtosugar - thanks I understand this more now from the way you have explained and set out the savings in writing then the way I was trying to figure out.

I will check with hubbie but I don't think his company have a childcare scheme.

Cleanandclothed - Thanks , that's a great idea, which allows me to use up both my childcare voucher entitlement and discount particularly if hubbie definiately doesn't have childcare voucher scheme.

Breatheslowly - Thanks. I wish I could. It's either full/part childcare vouchers or 5% discount in one term