Do we benefit from the new childcare support in April if we earn over £100k?

[R1991]

I’m trying to get my head around the new childcare benefits and I can’t work it out. I understand 2 year olds will benefit from 15 hours from April 2024 (brought forward from turning 3), but do we get this if one of the parents earn over £100k? Thanks so much

No

Yes you do

No, they don't 🙄

Doesn’t look like it. Is the other parent studying? Are you England, Wales or Scotland?

No, unfortunately not. Only if both parents earn less than £100k.

What confuses people is the focus on working parents, so people tend to think anyone who works will qualify. But it will be limited to those who can only get the 30
hours right now as those are the eligible working families.

Eventually the government plan to roll out 15 hours to all children over 9 months old, but the new 15 hours for two-year-olds has the same criteria as the extended 30 hours for three-year-olds.

When your child is three, they will be eligible for 15 hours of funded childcare, though. That’s for all children in England.

Depends how much over. Its taxable income. Pension comes off before tax is paid for if say they earn 104k and pay 5% contributions into a pension scheme then their taxable income is under 100k. If you're just over the limit you may want to consider adding the extra into your pension to bring it under

If one parents taxable income is over £100k then no, the new scheme as it currently stands won't apply.

The 15 hours for 3 year olds is universal.

Eventually the government plan to roll out 15 hours to all children over 9 months old

Whats your source for this? It’s my understanding that it’s only those who are eligible who will be able to claim.

Here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-plan-revealed-for-free-childcare-from-nine-months-old

So they don’t explicitly state it, but the article says they’re building on the current system and extending the current eligibility parameters to all children between 9 months and 5 years old.

Currently all* children in England over 3 get 15 hours and eligible parents get the extended 30 hours (15 hours universal + 15 hours extended).

*There are some parameters but it’s basically all children who are British citizens/have right to remain/asylum/etc.

It states eligible working parents of 9 month olds.

Eligible working parents are those where both parents work and earn under £100k.

You'll continue to be able to claim the 15 universal hours from 3 (which you would be entitled to under the current system) but unfortunately you won't benefit from any of the new offering. There's a good breakdown here: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/upcoming-changes-to-childcare-support/

What causes so much confusion is that in all the announcements and written materials, the government loves to say it's available to "all working families," when in fact it's not - only to those where both parents work outside of the home and neither earns £100k or more of taxable income. However, you have to dig to find that caveat.

And when I say "outside of the home," I don't necessarily mean physically, just pointing out that they don't count full-time mothers and carers as "workers."

Why would 'full time mothers' be classed as working or indeed need childcare?

This is a big bugbear of mine too. They should stop referring to ‘working families’ and start saying low-middle income working families. Higher earners will continue getting screwed in all directions.

I'm trying to get my head round the fact that the household income is over £100k pa and you want help paying childcare...

Why would you need to on that wage?

I can see that there is an argument for this.

I know some parents (let’s face it, almost always women) become stay at home parents for the love of it but some do so for other reasons, and sometimes it’s an inability to get and hold down a job either due to disability, mental health, chaotic lifestyle and so on. These children are probably the ones who would most benefit from a nursery place and can’t access it. So I suppose it’s technically true they don’t need childcare but the children would probably benefit from it.

No thev3 Yr olds is also and has always been unless 1 member of the household earns over 100k. Always. No childcare hours are universal in that sense.
It used to be that if you were very very low earner like free school meals low you got free hours from 2 instead of 3 to try and make up for already being behind in important cognitive and social skills. Now everyone inder 100k gets the same there is no additional provision for the disadvantaged.

High earners pay the highest tax but should get nothing out of the system they pay in to? Should they pay for their child to go to state school also?

This always pops up on these threads.

It is a question, and the question has been answered.

We are very much on the cusp. And we’d be stupid not to keep one salary just under the £100 mark while we have two children in childcare.

OP, no you will not be able to use the new scheme for 2 year olds. You will get 15 hours when your child is 3 years, which always starts the term after they turn 3.

Both salaries need to be under 100k.
You lose it as soon as 1 parent is at 100k after pensions. So if you earn 100k and your partner 5k you lose it but if you both earn 99.5k you keep it. Overall household income is not considered, because when it used to be it was used to control women and we want to be independent financially not counted as a unit for tax purposes this is a consequence. Worth it I think.

The 15 hours for 3 year olds IS universal. It’s the 30 hours that isn’t.

Sorry just to clarify the 30hrs is always conditional. 15hrs is universal so you will be able to claim that.
If, as I understand, the new age limits have the same conditions you might get 15hrs. Or that might be only for low income families from 2 as it is now.