All the boring stuff (tax, vouchers) for nanny's employers as of post-April 2005

[majorstress]

Uwila and others who have very recent experience of the CURRENT situation for small-fry employers-could you please summarise your experiences with Nannypaye.com? I noticed you seemed disatisfied on one thread. Did you use their contract templates at all as well as their tax service? I have looked at their site and the Nannytax.com site too. I noticed that as you say, there is more info on Nannytax.com, for example they have some useful help about how to get your nanny up to the new governement "soft-touch" standard for example regarding courses, which then allows you to use childcare vouchers (I need this info as my nanny is a really just an newly ex-aupair without formal quals in childcare-she is a qualified teacher but I presume that doesn't count-I was pleased to see on nannytax that there is an online course she could do, for example, which I hadn't come across before).

At the risk of continuing being boring, I would like to humbly inquire if anyone else has had to find a course to get their nanny (title earned by experience not official training) up to scratch enough to qualify for childcare vouchers under the new "soft-touch" regulations. What is the cheapest easiest way? Do you think I should pay for it all?

I'm kind of glad this is a determinedly boring thread actually-you guys are wearing me out with the drama of this very emotive topic . See you in the morning....

I haven't had to find a course but if you are wanting suggestions on courses that are suitable then here are a few:

MNT are running courses - cost is around £60 last I heard.

County Councils / EYDCP's often run training courses aimed at Childminders. The course you need to look at is: Introduction to Childminding Practice. This course is listed by SureStart as being suitable. In Surrey area, cost seems to be typically £50-£55, though looking through the SurreyCC training directory, not many of the venues listed price.

DO I think you should pay for it... well, hard to say really. As you will benfit from the Tax/NI savings, perhaps as in exchange for the nanny spending her own time doing the cours, you pay the enrolment fee. That why the cost is sort of shared between yourself and your nanny - you paying the financial part, the nanny 'paying' the time element.

I don't think you are obligated to pay for her to take this class. But, it might be in your interest to help out. Perhaps you could pay for the actualy class, but ask nanny to attend class and perform associated course work on her own time?

Thanks! Where would I look for a paediatric first aid course for her do you reckon?

Would check with Sure Start / Nestor to see if you can get one that counts towards her become accredited (and hence qualifying to the £50 vouchers)

Can't remember the web address... will have a look and post it if I can find it.

First Aid training courses are run around the country by St Johns Ambulance and Red Cross. There are also other local providers.

I would suggest that you take a look at St John Ambulance as they have an easy to use Online Booking System and you can find out loads of helpful information.

The trouble with current courses is however that they don't all cover the requirements for the Childcare Approval Scheme:

• dealing with emergencies
• resuscitation
• shock, choking and anaphylactic shock.

It's the Anaphylactic Shock that can be tricky to find on a course.

Early Years First Aid does include Anaphylactic Shock and meets the requirements for First Aid Training for nursery/pre-school staff as well as that required for the Childcare Approval Scheme . Therefore I would suggest that your childcarer does this course as it's recognised as being suitable. Cost varies around the county. Tip for those in London, have a look at courses run in Surrey/Berkshire which are near train stations, as it can often be cheaper travelling an hour by train to a venue outside of the capital.

Excellent! you are a solomon's mine of info. Thanks from very very grateful and rather mollified majorstress!!

Any Americans dealing with vouchers etc. out there? What do you tell the IRS about your childcare costs? I have a nightmare every year with my giant full size forms and it just gets more of a panic every year-and with the little horrors oops sorry my delightful dds I have less and less time and brainpower to figure it out. Should I hire an accountant? who? how? where? HELP!

In my experience any UK tax-free money stuff is not recognised by the US, so I am worried I will just end up trading any savings I make in the UK for a bill and a headache from the IRS which is even worse.

I don't get so far as to worry about childcare expenses on my us taxes because my income is below the level which I can take tax free as a bona fide resident of another country. But, beyond that level you can take a foreign tax credit whereby you deduct foreign income taxes paid to another country from those which you would owe on your income if you were resident in the US (betond the first $80,000.00 which is exempt for those of us who do not live in the US). You probably know all of this, but if you want, I can send you some lovely IRS publications on the matter.

I HATE US taxes.... so glad April 15 has passed!!

No thanks Uwila no more IRS publications please!!

I am afraid that they will count my income before the vouchers are taken out, and then somehow I won't have paid enough tax by their standards, so I will end up paying the US instead. The difference between the UK and US tax is getting smaller every year- wars cost money I guess.

I like the UK system where they just help themselves to your tax, VAT etc and don't bother YOU with the details! My income is below the limit to pay anything anyway to the US as I live abroad, but I have never filled in that one, I always just shown them my even-bigger UK tax and that means I don't owe them anything and don't look at anything else-it's just the stress of filling in and figuring out the forms that gets me. I just copy what I did last year. And I never get it done in time for Apr 15, I usually take the 2 month extension for people living abroad. THAT would be too organised-also it takes me ages to get the right letters out of HR.

The problem is when there is something different-US citizens seem to be able to claim something for childcare nowadays but I don't understand it-these things always take hours to work out, then the bottom line always says, oh BTW, majorstress is not eligible.