Tax deductable childcare for all working parents

[eleusis]

I think the income which one spends on childcare in order to go to work ought to be tax free. So, if I earn £35,000 and spend £12,500 paying my nanny, childminder, or nursery fees, then I should pay income tax on £22,500 that year.

Do you agree?

e-loo-sis
Is isn't really that hard.

i'm a manager for m&s, i do 4 shifts, two are 3pm till 11pm, the other two are 5pm till 12pm. no sundays though!

Fannyannie,

we don't all have jobs where we work shifts and can cover childcare between us. I'm not saying you are fortunate in having shift work but it does put you in the position of having the choice of not paying for childcare costs.

Eleusis,

As with many professional/management level posts, the hours I am contracted for and get paid for do not reflect the hours that I actually work. The same is true for my dh, he has a contract stating 38 hours and mine states 30 hours but just like our childless work colleagues this is just what the contract states, everybody gives more hours than that so I'd hate to see my childcare costs curtailed to the contracted hours

Okay, we could have a choice then. Either you:

1- take a flat rate of £x pounds to stay home and look after them yourself

or

2- you itemise actual costs for deduct the income tax from the money you spent on the childcare so you could go to work

If married you would have to do this together. So one can't take the deduction while the other stays home. I don't think it's that complicated really.

or we could all go and live in hungary where you get 7 yrs maternity pay

apparently

Good point knittingfog. Okay, so just let people deduct their tax. You might have to ask them to say submit their childcare bill. But, why can't we just operate a tax deduction rather than this silly expensive to run vousher system.

shift workers get paid less hours than they work too you know

why do people always think shift workers are crap unskilled jobs?

AND school snack fund is cheaper too

no-one said they didn't naily!

tHAT WAS TWO POINTS

whoops sorry

eh CD?

yes and the 'choice' I make to work these shifts means that I am frequently up for 36hrs upwards inorder to be there for my children.....oh and I'm also 24 weeks pg.

I could quite easily pack them off to nursery/childminder the days I've worked - but I choose not to. I suppose if this idea was a reality then I would send them off just to get a tax break - as we'd qualify for the childcare element of the tax credits too......

oh and I get paid for my full 9 1/4hr shift - whether we get a 3 minute sit down or a 3hr one - and get paid for going in for trainingin teh day time too, and staff meetings............that's the only good thing about it tbh LOL.

I used to run sundays too but had to leave as I had no babysitters.

now work as a sales girl on a sunday for exactly half the money

would do evenings too but can only start about 7 and I think this is too late for most retailers

m&s do 7pm shifts, no problem. big stores only mind you. best pay rates in retail.

ssd asda are extremely flexible re hours

you have to apply for jobs in asda through the jobcentre (ive heard)

they have a great reputation as employers

Well I have to pay childcare for my lunchhour which I don't get paid for, and for my commuting time. And I suppose I am paying for DD, while I am trying to persuade DS to put his coat and shoes on and dragging him out of the CMs.

I find myself a bit left out in these discussions, because I am not in a megabucks job, but nor am I in a not much more than minimal wage position either. But it is a daytime hours type thing, as is DH's so no getting away from needing childcare.

Couldn't the current childcare voucher scheme be extended to be up to a maximum amount of your childcare costs, instead of £243 per month as at present. The vouchers can't be used for anything else or redeemed by anyone not named thereon so less risk of abuse.

Unfortunately the government will not make it obligatory for all employers to offer the vouchers. They say it's not their policy to interfere with employer/employee related benefit areas !

I do think some people are wanting to have their cake and eat it.

No childcare costs, no tax relief on childcare costs. If you have no childcare costs and earn the same as someone who does have childcare costs, the fact that they would be getting tax relief on those childcare costs would not make them financially better off than you. Yes that pay less tax than you, but they still have less disposable income than you after tax and childcare costs are taken into account.

but why SHOULD I pay more tax than Joe Bloggs down the road just because they happen to pay for childcare and I don't???