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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be pissed off at the new tax free childcare

974 replies

childcarechallenge · 14/02/2017 10:58

NC for this.

We have two DC in childcare and live in London. I'm starting a new job next month and my salary is 48K, after tax, student loan, childcare costs and tube to work plus a few other generally working expenses (clothes etc) I've worked out that I will take home less than £200 a month.

DH earns a good salary which is good because we almost completely rely on his salary for rent, bills etc. He just received a large bonus which pushes him over 100K which is the new limit for the new tax free childcare scheme from the government.

Essentially, between 100K and 120K after tax, student loan, the loss of his "tax free allowance" which is clawed back over 100K, and the fact that we will not be able to claim £4000 back on our childcare because he is no longer under 100K (This applies to BOTH of us because of his salary) means that of that £20K we are actually only £1800 better off. AIBU to think that this is complete robbery - DH works extremely hard, very long hours (sometimes 70 hour weeks) in a high stress environment and the government seem to take an obscene amount of his salary.

We have an opportunity coming up to move to a lower tax country in a year or so with his job and this just makes me really want to take it, AIBU?

OP posts:
Sixisthemagicnumber · 14/02/2017 11:41

Is your 3 year old getting the free 15 hours?

IDontLoveGlitterGlitterLovesMe · 14/02/2017 11:42
Biscuit
JellyWitch · 14/02/2017 11:42

That's one of the reasons we have a big age gap between kids. Childcare for 2 under 5s isn't manageable (and our combined salary is a lot less than yours).

Definitely look at juggling pension payments to try and fit below the cut off point. Maybe a chat with an independent financial advisor would help?

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 14/02/2017 11:43

Child care is extortionate, that is true. However a post talking about how childcare for 2 DCs in London costs 30k per year would have been better received than a rant about how your DH gets taxed on his bonus.

Sixisthemagicnumber · 14/02/2017 11:43

Focus on what you do have and what you can do with 2 good salaries, hope that the government uses your taxes to do some good for people less fortunate.

Best advice on the thread so far.

Fakenewsday · 14/02/2017 11:43

i completely understand the temptation - mine are both doing well despite always being in ft childcare but it's been emotionally draining on us as parents, constant guilt, taking slightly sick kids to nursery etc because you're up at your limit for sick days for child related issues. That said, that's the real issue childcare, honestly. If you went back when your kids were primary aged, you'd have to earn a lot less to bring home money at that point though. Based on how much mine have gotten sick in FT childcare too, I'd say think twice. If your heart isn't really 100% in the job it'll be too tough but that's just my opinion. can you do a training course in the evening to show that you're trying to keep up to date?

DontTouchTheMoustache · 14/02/2017 11:44

Op seems to be wanting to justify not going back to work but she doesn't need to.justify it. It's the whole "woe is me, I've been forced.out of work" bullshit that is annoying me. I literally just about break even, and that's if I work my arse of.to economise. I could not work and rely on benefits and be about the same financially rather than work full time.but I don't because I know I need to work for my sons future. Once he is in school I'll start to feel the benefits of having a job and it is good for him to see me working as I am his only parent, it sets a good example. Don't want to work? Fine, don't work. Don't want to live in this country? Fine, bugger off if you so wish. But don't act hard done by because of it.

DJKKSlider · 14/02/2017 11:44

Op knew exactly what response they'd get. That's why they name changed.
If they were really serious then there would be no need to NC.

Its the forum equivalent of morons rioting for things they believe in, only they don't quite believe in them enough to do it without a mask on.

CommonSenseIsNotAllThatCommon · 14/02/2017 11:45

FakeNews dh works 14hr shifts 5 days a week and I work 40hr a week.

minijoeyjojo · 14/02/2017 11:46

YANBU, the way tax works over £100k is ludicrous. I strongly believe that there needs to be a better balance between taxing the rich and unduly penalising people who happen to earn in the £100-120k bracket.

I'd take the job in the lower taxed country, why not.

buckyou · 14/02/2017 11:46

I don't understand why people make out like childcare is like some 'tax' parents have to pay, like it's the government's responsibility to look after our kids from birth?? They have to have the cut off somewhere, and sounds like you could get back under it easy enough.

SolomanDaisy · 14/02/2017 11:47

If you move to a low tax country, the chances are you will have additional costs. Health insurance, school fees, even rubbish collection. You may end up being no better off financially.

treaclesoda · 14/02/2017 11:47

Aw bless. 15 years ago I was working 70 hour weeks too, for the princely salary of 11k. I have zero time for this assumption that only people in well paid jobs work long hours.

Fakenewsday · 14/02/2017 11:49

and Common howmany DC, what ages, and are they in full time childcare not by your family? These are all important factors.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 14/02/2017 11:49

Unfortunately, the threshold effect at £100k is a bit of a shock if you are not expecting it. I agree with others can your DH salary sacrifice into his pension to drop down below the threshold?

You are allowed to be pissed off as long as you recognise that anyone who has this problem is very fortunate indeed.

kingpin20 · 14/02/2017 11:50

Fakenewday: i'd love to know howmany of the unsympathetic posts are in family situations where their OH works 70 hours a week, they work full time, have kids of 11 months and 3 years in full time childcare.

I'm unsympathetic. My OH does not currently work 70 hours a week (because he is no longer around) I work full time, and when that work started I had kids of 4 weeks, 2years and 3 years.

Its tough. But its a lot tougher when you don't have the £148k to fall back on.

NeedsAsockamnesty · 14/02/2017 11:51

I work massively long hours I'm also a very high earner.

I think you need to grow up and get a grip on reality

NeedsAsockamnesty · 14/02/2017 11:52

Oh and I have more than 2 in childcare. That is what happens when you have kids.

Fakenewsday · 14/02/2017 11:52

fair enough - mumsnet is supposed to be about support though - personally, whatever your income, working that many hours with DC that small in childcare not done by family doesn't seem an enviable position to me, whatever your income is. If you have to, that's sad (and sorry for you kingpin and common that you don't have better choices available, if you want to, fine, but it sounds like the op feels she has to when she actually doesn't really.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 14/02/2017 11:53

I think you're cross about the wrong thing. If you didn't have to pay so much for childcare then it wouldn't seem anywhere near so bad.

Fwiw I used to pay £80 per day for nursery in London and didn't earn anywhere near as much as you. Still had to pay tax and wasn't entitled to the childcare scheme because I was self employed. Most months I made a loss if I counted childcare but you can't claim that as a deductible expense. It wasn't fair, if fair means exactly the same as everyone else, but there were other benefits to living where we did.

Get cross about the fact childcare in this country is so expensive. Get cross about the fact the government just decrees more free hours without backing it up with funding. Get cross that other countries manage to offer good qualify childcare with well qualified and paid staff that is funded or subsidised by the state from taxes. Then once you're really bloody mad about it, start doing something about it. Write some letters, sign some petitions. Get the root cause tackled.

ThePants999 · 14/02/2017 11:53

YANBU, IMO. 91% is a ludicrous marginal tax rate. I know it's not really all tax, but I agree you're effectively only taking home 9% of £20K, and that's silly. Ignore the jealousy.

Snowflakes1122 · 14/02/2017 11:53

Hope you like biscuits OP, because you're going to get a few posting this!

ASilhouetteAndNothingMore · 14/02/2017 11:54

I wouldn't want my DC in full time childcare either. So we have managed to find shift work where one of us can be at home with the kids. We don't earn as much as we could, but our kids are happy and that's all that matters. They are not small for long.

Basicbrown · 14/02/2017 11:54

I don't understand why people make out like childcare is like some 'tax' parents have to pay, like it's the government's responsibility to look after our kids from birth?? They have to have the cut off somewhere, and sounds like you could get back under it easy enough.

Well the government put rules in place that make it so ridiculously expensive. You can't pay a mate £30 a day to look after your baby for example, she has to be OFSTED registered. So yes, they have some responsibility, particularly when people are being taxed first and then have to pay for childcare, it is a cost of working not disposable income.

I think YANBU it's bloody ridiculous, when people on up to 100K joint salaries (so 49K each) get child benefit.

There is little point in earning just over 100K. Can't he put some into a pension though to get to under the threshold?

SnotGoblin · 14/02/2017 11:54

Sorry, you will be suffering... I haven't RTFT but I don't imagine I'm the only single mother on substantially less than your salary with the same bills and commitments who is struggling to raise a fuck to give you?