tax credits, vouchers etc for childcare

[mulranno]

new to this is there an idiots guide to what is and is not available to support payment of an nanny -- is there a max age of the children fr when any benefits are valid?

WTC2 and WTC5 leaflets from HMRC are worth a read (both links are to PDF).

From WTC2:

You can claim the childcare element for any child up to:
? the Saturday following 1 September after their 15th birthday, or
? the Saturday following 1 September after their 16th birthday if
  ? the child is on the blind register or came off it in the last 28 weeks, or
  ? you receive Disability Living Allowance for that child.

To be able to be part-paid via Tax Credits a nanny has to be registered. In England, registration is with Ofsted. Are you in England?

Does your employer provide Childcare Vouchers? If so use the HMRC Calculator: Are you better off with Vouchers or Tax Credits?

Please take a look at the above links, then ask specific questions. Include details of which country you are in as things vary between England/Scotland/Wales/NI/Channel Islands.

OMG - so much to get my head around - looks like I am out for tax credits - as joint family income is too much. Vouchers looks to be the way forward. we are in England and the nanny is ofsted registered. I work freelance - so am the only employee within my ltd company - so I suppose I could "award" vouchers to myself from the company....

Alas I have no idea how vouchers would work in a very small company. Perhaps contact a voucher company as ask them. A smaller employee benefits company like Fair Care may give you some info and may be already working with very small companies.

Talk to your accountant because as a limited company freelancer, the interplay between vouchers and your overall tax setup is not simple.

Voucher companies will know nothing about this.