Is childcare rebate counted as income by local authority when calculating benefits ?

[mumstheword101]

I've been battling with my local authority for nearly a year on this - and no-one, not even my local mp seems to know the answer ...

I get 70% of my childcare costs reimbursed as I'm a working single mum. However when the local authority calculates any benefit calculation, this is counted as income ? Surely that's not correct, as it goes straight to the nursery ?

Anyone with experience of this ?

Who reimburses the nursery fees? Is the money paid to you for you to pay the nursery or do you never see the money?

I think the OP means the childcare element of WTC...

If tax credits then yes it is income - if you earned too much to be eligible for tax credits then the part of your salary that you use for nursery fees would still be income therefore it is still income when it's a benefit.

I wasn't sure based on the OP's wording where she said the money goes straight to the nursery - some employers will pay childcare fees for the employee as an additional benefit.

No it should come u under expenses on your housing benefit statement and be disregarded.

Thanks for your responses. I do get working tax credit, and yes under this they list a value for childcare costs which is paid to me and I pay the nursery. So for eg if I got £100 working tax credit, it would then say £50 of the working tax credit is the childcare element (which I have to then pay the childcare providers). It doesn't make much sense that the childcare element would be therefore counted as income ?

All of your tax credits including any childcare element will be taken as income for Housing Benefit.
Your childcare costs should then be taken as an expense in your benefit calculation. Are they aware you pay childcare? I work in benefits and we get claimants to complete a form that the nursery/ childminder fills in with all the details, then effectively what is paid out in childcare gets taken off your income.